Four Magics
by Pikaskye
Summary: I was talking to my best friend when They walked in. That's when everything changed... Told from three POVs [point of view] OC and NaLu, Rated T for minor swearing and violence. BONUS CHAPTER ADDED!
1. Chapter 1

**Four Magics**

**Hey guys! This is my first online FanFic and I think so far it's good! All constructive critism is welcomed, and I hope you guys like it! :D**

What happens when a new, mysterious mage walks into the Fairy Tail guild? The lives of Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Happy will be flipped upside down when Kura, the new girl with a powerful magic, and Aiko, the purple Exceed, come into their lives. Told from three POVs [point of view] Tiny bit of NaLu, Rated T for minor swearing and violence.

* * *

**Lucy's POV [point of view]**

I was talking to my best female friend, Levy McGarden, when the new girl walked into the guild hall.

"Lu-chan!" Levy called.

I turned around to see the blue-haired Solid-Script mage staring down at me. "What's up?" she asked, taking a seat next to me.

"Nothing much... I'm about to go on a job, but Natsu's taking his sweet-arsed time picking one." I jabbed a finger at the pink-haired Dragon Slayer who was standing in front of the request board, looking for a job for him, Happy, and me. His flying, talking, blue cat suggested jobs next to him, but Natsu would shake his head and go onto the next one. It was his turn today, and he was likely going to pick a job with lots of enemies to fight.

Levy caught me staring and smiled coyly. "Lucy?"

"Mm-hmm?" I looked at her from the corner of my eye.

She giggled. "If Natsu drives you off the wall, like you complain almost every day, then why are you still teammates with him?"

It took me a split second to understand what she meant. I sighed and rubbed my temples. "Cause he won't let me back out now!" Levy laughed, but suddenly, there was a long groan from the front entrance, and a cold gust of wind flew in. FairyTails mages turned their heads to look at the silhouette of the new person that walked into the hall.

Levy stopped laughing, then frowned at whispered into my ear, "who's that?"

I shrugged. "I dunno."

The girl had purple hair tied in a high ponytail, and wore a knee-length, open-ended black dress. The dress had purple lining and deep pockets, and slightly poofed up at the bottom. The long sleeves were loose at the end. She had black boots on, and light violet leggings. She carried a narrow sheathed sword on her belt, and there was a dagger tucked into her boot. Her face had high cheekbones, and her startling purple-y blue eyes were cold. She was fairly taller than I was, maybe Natsus height.

She stopped in the center of the guild. "I'm looking for Makarov Dreyar." She announced, waiting for someone to reply. Another figure, smaller this time, burst through the doors.

"Kuuurrraaaaaaa! Wait for me!" she wailed. My eyes widened. It was a tiny, purple flying cat. It was wearing a yellow dress, and had a cute, white-tipped tail. The tail was slightly short and bushy. It had an indigo and gold bow around its neck, and its wings were dusted, _guess what?_ Purple.

Another Exceed. The cat flew in and hugged the new girls arm. Kura, or I guessed her name was, unlatched the cat from her gently.

Mira, our barmaid and a fellow mage, stepped in.

"I'm Mira-Jane. Master's this way." She led the new girls to the back.

The guild erupted into quieted gossip the second they disappeared. "Who's the new girl?" "I don't know, but she's pretty." "She doesn't look very nice." "I wonder what she wants with Master."

Levy leaned in. "So, what do you think?"

"Me? Oh, maybe she's asking to join FairyTail." I said. "What about you?"

Levy grinned evilly. "Maybe they're escaped criminals who want revenge on Master!" she cried, pointing her finger in the air.

I sighed at my friend's crazy thoughts. "Levy, your life isn't a drama book." I stood up and let her plot her evil ideas. I walked up to Natsu, who was still standing in front of the request board and still hadn't picked up a job.

"Natsu," I said to my teammate, but he was so absorbed into his decisions that he didn't notice.

"Natsu... Natsu!"

The pink-haired Dragon Slayer whipped around, slightly irritated. "What!"

"Did you see the new girl?"

Natsu immediately perked up. "Did she look strong? Do you think I could fight her?" I rolled my eyes. Natsu lived to fight, whether it was people, demons, or monsters.

"I don't know," I said. "She just arrived. I don't even know if she's a wizard yet, but she had an Exceed with her."

Natsu opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly there was a large explosion from the back room. We paused for a moment, and then ran towards the crash.

In the hallway, there was a big cloud of debris blocking the way. Behind us the other guild members called out. "Master! Are you okay?" or something along the lines.

Wendy, the little twelve year-old dragon slayer, pushed through the crowd with a lot of "sorrys," "pardon me's," and "let me through." "Allow me," she said. Wendy's cheeks blew up, then a gust of wind blew out and cleared the dust with her Sky Dragon Slayer magic.

We all stared. The entire back portion of the room had collapsed, leaving a confused master and Mira-Jane, and the girl and cat from before, the only things left standing. The girl had her sword unsheathed, but then calmly placed it back in her belt. "I'm sorry for the mess."

"Kura!" the cat tutted. "You shouldn't try to destroy things too mu..." she looked around and noticed the crowd, and immediately shut up.

Even Makarov, our short but sweet master, was stunned, but then he picked himself off the ground. He held out a hand. "You're accepted, Kura!" he said to the girl, who was probably called that. Kura smiled slightly and grasped onto his hand, shaking it.

"Thank you for your consideration, Master Dreyar."

The old man, who seemed unfazed by the destruction, chuckled. "Don't mention it." He now noticed the entire guild looking at the two. "Children!" [Because that's what he called us all,] "This is Kura and Aiko, the newest members of FairyTail!"

We only gaped, then Erza Scarlet, the strongest [and scariest,] female mage in FairyTail, pushed through the crowd. "Master! What happened?"

The old man looked amused by the question. "Ms. Kura is a very strong and powerful mage, who seemingly," he looked behind him at the collapsed wall, smiling tightly, "will fit very well with the rest of you."

Natsu stepped forwards. "My name's Natsu. Fight me!"

We all facepalmed. Natsu was sometimes so outgoing he was too rude sometimes.

Kura seemed unfazed or taken back. "Okay. Where?"

"What about here and now?" he demanded, punching his fists together. "I'm just warning you, I'm not gonna go easy just cause you're a newbie."

She nodded, turning slightly so her side was facing him. "Hit me."

Aiko, the Exceed, frowned. "Ummm... Kura? You shouldn't be fighting with our new guild members... I mean, it's not good to fight... especially when it's you..."

Kura looked at cute little Aiko. "It's fine. I'll make it quick."

The dragon slayers fist caught fire, and he charged the new girl. I winced. This was gonna end—

Kura moved, so fast she was a blur, and ended up behind Natsu. He turned around only at the last second. "Huh?" he exclaimed before Kura kneed him in the stomach and he doubled over, groaning. The newbie twirled around, kicking him hard, and Natsu flew backwards into the only wall left standing. Fortunately, it didn't break, but there was a large crater left behind. Natsu fell to the ground, twitching and defeated.

My eyeballs nearly rolled out of my head. She hadn't even used magic! Never before had I seen the fire dragon slayer get defeated so easily. Even Erza had trouble with him sometimes, but this girl...

No one had anything to say, but luckily Erza broke out of the silence. "It is an honour to meet you, Kura." She shook the purple haired mages hand, and Erza bent down to shake Aikos.

"It's nice to meet you too." The Exceed said sweetly.

"As to you." The two sword users nodded politely to each other. Soon, the other guild members stepped forwards, and Kura and Aiko were enveloped by the incoming crowd asking questions.

I went to Natsu and crouched down. "Are you okay?" I asked him. It was surprising because usually Natsu got up straight after a battle, seemingly unfazed at his loss/win, but right now he was a puddled mess.

Natsu moaned. "I'm fine..."

I giggled, enjoying the sight. Not that I liked seeing my nakama **[teammate]** hurt, but because he was never defeated so quickly, especially by a new person.

He narrowed his eyes and struggled to his feet. "Are you laughing at me?"

"No," I said, but my voice cracked with another giggle.

"Stop that!" he said, but he brushed it aside. "I gotta go see that that Kura person. She's pretty good."

"So you're admitting that's she's better than you?"

He gave me a sharp look, but his mouth twitched into a smile. "Better than me? Pah. Not possible. I just wasn't trying."

I rolled my eyes. "Natsu, you're always trying."

He stood up like the previous fight hadn't existed. "Although I have to admit," he added, cracking his neck. "that girl has a good kick." We started walking towards the crowd.

Finally Makarov managed to get most of the other guild members off of the new girls. The only people left were Natsu, Erza, Gray, Happy, Wendy, Charle, Mira-Jane, the Master, and me.

"Do you have any injuries?" Wendy asked, even though Kura hadn't even taken a hit from Natsu.

The girl smiled at her, but for a moment the smile looked sad. "I'm fine, but thank you."

Natsu reached out a hand, making Kura snap out of it and look down at the outstretched arm. "Welcome to FairyTail!" he said.

She took the hand. "Thank you."

The remaining members all introduced themselves. "I'm Lucy," I said.

"Nice to meet you." Kura nodded politely.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Mira asked. "I could lend you a room for a few nights."

"I am fine. I rented a room at Fairy Hills. But thank you for offering."

The thing I noticed about Kura was she was always polite, always answering with pleases, thank you's, and pardon me's. She was awfully guarded though, never giving too much away about herself. She didn't state where she came from, what she was doing here, or any nearby family members. She was here because she was.

The other thing I noticed was she walked with the grace of a wild animal, as high-strung as a bow and arrow, ready to spring at any moment. She reminded me of Erza, I thought to myself, because I would never say that out loud.

Aiko was an adorable little Exceed, who was very shy and reserved. She was talking politely with Charle, the white Exceed, and Happy, but she didn't talk much back. She was like the opposite of the Charle, friendly but really shy. She tugged at her bow often and said at least six sorry's in their conversation. Happy seemed interested in the new purple cat, mostly because there were only so many others like him in the world. Like Kura, she didn't really say much about herself.

It was getting late, and the suns light was beginning to disappear through the new cracks in the guild building. "I'm gonna go," I announced, and then turned my back on the group.

* * *

**Natsus POV**

I climbed in through the window, noting first that Lucy wasn't home yet. I was slightly irritated at this. There was something I needed to tell her. I'd left Happy with Charle and Wendy, and I expected my blue flying cat partner to come soaring back in the next hour or two. Minutes after Lucy had left, I went to, hoping to meet her in her house, but so far she wasn't here.

I huffed nearly an hour later. She still wasn't back yet! I paced around her room, when I heard the key click in the key slot. Lucy walked in, humming with her arms full of groceries. She opened her eyes a bit and cried out.

She looked at me, wide-eyed. "Natsu!"

"What's up?" I gave her a crooked smile, knowing that she'd get angry with me.

"Nothing much. Get out of my house for the millionth time!"

I mentally clapped myself on the back, congratulating myself for making Lucy more peed off at me. It was one of the things I lived for.

She sighed. She was so used to me barging in that her protests were less than half-hearted now. "One of these days I gotta tell Erza about this," she muttered to herself.

I was taken back for a moment. "You wouldn't." Erza scared me, and I knew that the female knight scared the crap outta Lucy too. Lucy had tried many ways to get me and Happy out of her house, including bribing, threatening, blackmailing, and yes, even begging, but I just _really_ liked her house. It smelled like her, and, although I would never admit it to _any_one, Lucy smelled nice.

That thought brought me back to what I had wanted to say. "Lucy, I'm serious, did you notice anything weird about Kura?"

She thought for a moment. "Other than she purposely gave no important details about herself, no, why?"

"Because she smelled familiar." Kura smelt like something I couldn't quite put a finger on. It wasn't something I'd smelled recently, but I had a strong whiff of it before.

Lucy's face went slack and he rubbed her forehead. "Not everyone has super dragon smell, Natsu."

Oh, yeah. Having Dragon Slayer Magic and being raised by a dragon, [long story,] made me have better senses. "I mean, she smelled funny. I'm sure you were there when I sniffed... whatever it is."

"I'll make sure to take note of her scent next time I see her, Lucy said sarcastically. "Now, if you're gonna stay here, you better help me with the groceries."

I frowned but reluctantly helped her out. I'd been here so often and taken her food so much that I knew where everything was, so while Lucy calmly chatted about the weather, I tuned her out. I tried naming Kuras smell.

A particular plant? No, I thought as I put away a box of crackers.

An animal? No, I wondered as I popped the milk into the lacyrima-powered fridge.

I growled in frustration. The answer was on the tip of my tongue!

Lucy turned around after we finished. "I'm gonna take a shower, so get out." she pointed towards the window, because she knew I wouldn't take the door. Doors were too boring for me. Breaking through the wall would work too, but I [wisely] kept on Lucy's good side. She was as scary as Erza went she was angry.

She walked into the bathroom, where I heard the taps squealing and the water hissing out of the showerhead.

Instead of getting out like Lucy said, I stayed for a few more minutes. Man, I was tired, I thought. All this action and _thinking_. I sat on Lucy's bed, rumpling the covers. Lucy's sweet smell rubbed off when the blankets were disturbed.

_I'll crash here for the night. I'm sure Lucy won't mind. _

When Lucy walked out from her shower, I was already asleep on her bed.

* * *

I woke up just as the sun popped over the horizon, stretching to get out the creakiness and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"Hey L—" I started to say, but it quickly silenced when I noticed she was still asleep.

_In the bed._

I uncharacteristically squealed in surprise. Usually when I slept here, she just took an extra blanket that she kept in the closet and slept on the floor, but now...

_She was in the bed with me._

I looked down at the peaceful expression, how her chest rose and fell with her breathing, or how the little chibi-style polar bears on her pyjamas looked pretty cute on her-

Ah, what was I doing! I looked away quickly as if I was caught doing something wrong. She's my _nakama_. This doesn't mean anything, to you or to her. She must have felt like sleeping on the floor, so she got into the bed. I cautiously peeked over at her, trying hard not to stare.

It was awfully strange for Lucy to be so quiet. I imagined Lucy in her sleep grumbling and rolling over and being very loud, because that was the only Lucy I knew. She complained about her rent [a lot,] she yelled at me for sneaking in, for my [apparent] stupidity... the list went on and on! She was always shouting at someone or other, and at times she could be as scary as Erza sometimes. I shuddered. I remembered the time she found Happy and I reading her diary. The revenge included a tiny cat box, some foul-tasting fire, a monster, a steel trap, a long unnecessary train ride, some underwear and bras, and Erzas cake disappearing.

OhMyGodINeverWantToRememberThatMomentEverAgain.

Lucy rolled over, so I carefully climbed over her to get out of the bed. I quickly, and quietly, I opened the door and walked out.

I could deal with using the door just once.


	2. Chapter 2

** kk guys! this is my second chapter of Four Magics and so far I think it's good! I'll be doing two POVs per chapter, and so far it's around 80,000 words. [I just have to publish the others on FanFiction.] enjoy this second chapter! :D**

* * *

**L****ucy's POV **

I blinked the sleep out of my eyes and raised my head. Morning, I thought. I turned over and noticed Natsu was gone. Must have woken up before me, I thought.

Last night, I was so tired that I didn't even bother sleeping on the floor. I crashed in with Natsu, keeping my polar bear pyjamas on and cuddling underneath the covers. At first, it was a tiny bit awkward; I could feel my face burning, but eventually the feeling faded to the background.

Natsu was like a heat pad. His body temperature seemed to spread softly through the blankets, and from this distance, I could _smell_ him. Not that he smelled bad, more like burning logs in a fireplace on a cold night. The smell was actually quite comforting, I'd thought.

I stared at his backside for awhile, until he rolled over in his sleep and landed

Right. In front. Of my face.

And his arm wrapped around my body, hugging me like a teddy bear.

I suppressed a squeak. This totally wasn't worth it... I thought. I'd rather be on the floor.

That's when I realized I couldn't get out without waking up Natsu.

Oh, come _ on!

I squirmed, trying to loosen his grip, but he only let out a huff of air and held on tighter. "I'm not your teddy bear!" I cried out softly. I was seriously considering waking him up so I could get out, but I decided against it. Waking up Natsu was a very [very] crazy bad idea. It was like trying to steal Erzas strawberry cake. I would end up with a giant bruise on my face that didn't go away for a month.

I groaned and tried to make the best out of the situation as I could. I made myself fairly comfortable, which unfortunately left me staring awkwardly at Natsus face, but nothing less Natsus heat-pad-like warmth certainly did help.

I was waiting for Natsu to roll over or shift so I could get out, but before I knew it, I was looking carefully at the details of Natsus face. It was strange because Natsu was always moving, and now the only hint of movement was the steady rise-and-fall of his chest. His spiky pink hair had fallen in front of his face, obscuring his eyes slightly and his upturned nose. He was cute when he was asleep, I admitted. You could never picture Natsu cute when we were on a mission, always bouncing around, being sick on transportation, or completely and utterly destroying whatever was in his way. Or fighting things fifteen size his side and winning without a scratch on his body.

I shook my head hard. He's my _nakama._ And a crazy, hot headed, flame-throwing lunatic. I scowled to myself and dug my face into the covers. He drives me nuts. And him and his partner take too much of my food.

That reminded me of the rent money I needed. Natsu and I were planning on going on a job yesterday, but with the new girl coming in we completely forgot about it. I grumbled a curse underneath my breath. I needed that cash soon.

Natsu finally rolled over to let me out, but I was too tired, [and comfortable,] to really move. My eyelids felt so heavy and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

* * *

Damn girl.

I made myself some coffee for the morning, preparing my stuff to get back to the guild. You must have been veeeeerrrry tired last night. Seriously.

I expected Natsu to climb through the window any moment now, because we sometimes walked to the guild together with Happy, but for once he didn't show up. I shrugged. His loss.

I walked through the streets of Magnolia, watching the peaceful atmosphere from afar. Unfortunately, I didn't have any money, _including rent money_, I added sourly, so I couldn't stop at any of the stores. I spent it all on food.

Natsu and Happy took a lot of my food.

I sighed. I really need to get those two out of my house.

Suddenly, there was a large boom and a dust cloud appeared over the housetops. Right about where the FairyTail guild was. I ran towards the building expecting something very bad. What now? I thought franticly.

I ran up to the gates and skid to a halt. The entire entrance was destroyed, and Kura stood there, undisturbed by the rubble. A dozen heads behind Kura poked out, and Aiko was flying behind her, a concerned look on her face.

A faint groan made me look down. "Natsu!" I cried. He landed right at my feet, and he had a dazed look in his eye. "Uhhnnnnn..."

"What happened to you?" I demanded.

"Uhhnnnnn..." he moaned. "It... Hurts..." a slender but strong hand took Natsus shoulder and helped get him up.

I looked up, startled. Kura held out a hand, and was helping Natsu hold onto her shoulder. I quickly held onto the other one and hauled him up. We walked towards the hall, where the whole guild was looking at the new entrance in silent awe.

"Wow." I looked at the new girl who so easily defeated Natsu and several brick walls. "You're really good, Kura." She sent a hesitant, sharp look out of the corner of her eye my way.

"What type of magic do you use? I mean, I haven't gotten to see it. I've only seen you use combat."

She smiled tightly. "It's a special type of magic." She said no more, turning her head to indicate the discussion was over.

Suddenly there was a cry from the inside of the guild. "What is this?" a man cried.

All the guild members scattered, minus Aiko and the few select others that were brave enough, [or drunk enough,] to stay. I had a pretty good idea of who the voice belonged to.

Our short but sweet Master Makarov looked at the damage of the entrance. "What is this?" he demanded again. For a second I thought he was going to use his magic to become giant again, but he only rubbed his forehead and looked up and Kura, Natsu and I.

"Another fight with Natsu?" he said wearily.

"I am very sorry for the damage, Master. He took my breakfast." Kura said calmly.

I nearly laughed out loud, but then I kicked Natsu in the shins. He deserved it!

Master sighed, then he went up to Natsu and punched him squarely in the face. It was Makarovs... _original _way of raising his children. The FairyTail guild was always ignoring his spoken commands, so he had to enforce them... like that.

"What are you doing, stealing someone's breakfast?" he demanded in his gruff voice.

"I was hungry!" Natsu whined. "And no one was occupying it, so I thought it would go to waste!" Kura and I dropped Natsu on the group with a dull thud. He got up, and I smirked at his dazed expression, despite me worrying for his well-being.

"It was just _sitting_ there," he insisted.

Behind Master, Aiko was shaking her head.

Makarov sighed, accustomed to the property damage bills that his children put him through. "Natsu, you will help rebuild the entrance along with anyone else that wants to. You are all dismissed."

He turned around stiffly, muttering to himself. I could imagine just what. Fortunately, he was used to FairyTails unlimited number of destroyed buildings.

Kura looked at Natsu, who was gaping at Masters back. "Would you like any help fixing the entrance?" she asked him.

"I'm fine." He said stubbornly, but I interrupted him. "Yes, he would."

Natsu eyed me, and I hissed under my breath, "You can't do everything by yourself." I knew he would hear me with his Dragon Slayer hearing.

The idiot, trying to do whatever he wanted to on his own. What did he think he was, one of the Ten Wizard Saints? I knew him well enough that because he lost to Kura, twice, he would be slightly stubborn towards her.

"It would be very much appreciated." I smiled at the taller mage. "I'll help too." Natsu opened his mouth to shoot something back at me but I turned and hit him on the shoulder. He looked at me, narrowing his eyes, but shut up.

Aiko flew in. "I'll help too." Said the cute little cat. I resisted to urge to hug her and bury my face into her soft looking fur.

I was anxious to help, so I brought out two of my celestial gate keys. "Anybody have some water?" I asked. We need to make bricks, and I had an idea. Kura handed me a tiny flask, meant for alcohol, from her belt. "There's water in it," she reassured me. "I don't drink."

I spilled some of the water into my hands and stuck the key into it. "Open, Gate of the Water Bearer!" I shouted, and an unseen breeze lifted up my hair. "Aquarius!"

The blue mermaid poofed up in the air, floating just over the ground. "What do you want, brat?"

I smiled tightly. _Not now Aquarius! Don't act like a snooty teenager now! _

"I'm giving you a work date." I said. "You help us with rebuilding the entrance, and you get to go on a date with Scorpio. Now let me summon him."

Aquarius perked up at the name of her boyfriend. "Fine. Whatever. But after this don't summon me for a week." She leaned in close. "And if you dare tell him anything... well, I'll haunt you for the rest of your life." Aquarius let the threat hang in the air. "Now go summon him, brat."

I sighed. Just before garnishing my key dramatically, Natsu grabbed my arm. "Why are you summoning these two spirits?" he asked.

"Cause we'll make blocks with them." I said simply. I had a good plan that would save money and be much faster than waiting for new bricks. I took the key and cried out, "Open, Gate of the Scorpion!" a tiny bit more magic flowed out of me. "Scorpio!"

The scorpion spirit appeared, in the form of a man with half red, half-white hair, and a scorpion tail attached to his back. "Ey!" he said to me. "How's Master Lucy today!"

Unlike Aquarius, Scorpio actually liked me. But, whenever he was here—

Aquarius butted in. "how's our little sweetie-pie? What do you need help with now?" she ruffled my hair, speaking to me like I was a puppy. [Notice the difference from before and after? Teenage brat to a flippin' nanny.]

"I'm fine. Scorpio, can you make a huge pile of sand right there?" I pointed to an empty spot. And Aquarius, I need you to make it into mud."

When Scorpio turned around, spitting sand from his tail, Aquarius glared at me. "That's what you needed us for? To make _mud_?" she demanded.

I clamed up. "I'm just trying to fix up the guild! I—we need to make bricks!"

She narrowed her eyes at me. "This week's vacation better be worth it." She looked at the new guild members. "Who are they?"

I was stunned that Aquarius even noticed the girl and cat, especially since her boyfriend was here, but I said, "That's Kura and Aiko. They're new at FairyTail."

The blue mermaid didn't seem satisfied with the answer, but then Scorpio turned around. "Is this good enough, Master Lucy?" which made Aquarius back away from me.

I looked at the huge pile of sand. I nodded. "Thank you!"

"And Aquarius?" I looked at her pointedly.

She grumbled under her breath but she grabbed her urn. She lifted it above her head and water blasted the sand pile, turning it slowly into mud. Finally, the pile was completely wet. "Thank you, Aquarius." I said to her. "You may now return to the Spirit World."

Just as they disappeared, I could see the mocking tone of, "thank you Aquarius, you may now return—" the mermaid faded from view.

Natsu looked at the pile. "What now? We just have an even bigger mess to clean up."

"It's okay." I had a plan. "Natsu will shape up the blocks and put pressure on them with his Dragon Slayer magic. Shape them blocky, because those will be what we're building with," I told him, then looked at Kura. "The mud will dry up and harden into those shapes. Because Natsus... handiwork... isn't that smooth, we get you, Kura, to cut the blocks until they're approximately the same size. I'll summon Virgo and Taurus to help build the entrance."

Kura looked vaguely impressed. "Good idea."

"But wait." Natsu held my arm before we started. "Isn't summoning four spirits in ten minutes not good for ya Luce?"

I was slightly flattered that he was thinking for my safety, but also peed because he thought I couldn't do it. "I'll be fine." I brushed his hand off.

Natsu looked doubtful, but then he grinned. "Okay. Let's get to work!"

* * *

**Kuras POV **

I unsheathed my long sword and tested it in my grasp. The metalwork was perfect, including the balance and weight. The handle was wrapped around with a leathery material that stopped it from falling from my grip. Not that I've ever dropped it, but accidents do happen.

I'd had this sword for a long time. It was crafted by the Master of Metal, and so far, it had never, ever gotten chipped or scratched. It was one of my strongest reliable weapons, because I've trained with it since I was twelve with my old Master.

I was raised in a church-like building, with many friends and family members. Of course, the memory shot back through my mind, making me shudder.

Not that again.

The church-like building and its inhabitants are dead and gone now. I kil—

I stopped the thought. _Focus!_ The first lesson Master taught me with a blade was to always keep your focus. You could never loosen your grip on your sword. I had to remember that in his honour.

The first block was dropped in front of me by the Dragon Slayer. It was half a meter tall and just a tiny bit wider. Okay, start cutting the brick. I pictured it exactly how I wanted it to look like, and a faint twitch of my arm was the only movement on me.

I shifted, then attacked the block, letting the sword tease its way into the hardened mud. The blade bounced off with a quiet thud, because I would only touch the sides in the slightest, carefully inching off excess sand. My sword was a blur, and crumbles of rock were flying into the air. My best, and only, cat friend flew around, trying not to get hit. She giggled.

Finally, the block was near perfect size. I looked at the two mages beside me. The stellar spirit mage was looking at the block in surprise, and the pink-haired dragon slayer quickly looked away, huffing. "I could do better than that." He muttered under his breath while leaving to make more blocks.

I smiled faintly. He reminded me of someone I used to know. Of course, he was dead now. I bit my lip. "How's this?" I asked the girl named Lucy.

She blinked in surprise. "Good. Actually, more than good. Great. These will fit perfectly if they're all that size."

"She never does the job half-way." Aiko piped in.

She looked at me curiously. "Okay." She went off to summon her spirits.

I looked down at the FairyTail mark magically placed on my thigh. It was black and white to represent my magic, which no one else but Makarov knew specifically what it was. Aikos was put on her back, under her dress.

I held out my hand when no one was looking, then tried to see if there was a trickle of magic coming from my fingertips. None. I sighed. None today, I said to myself, but I was slightly relieved. I didn't know if that Natsu kid would want another fight and accidently get hurt...

Or worse.

"No magic?" Aiko asked me, seeing what I was doing. I shook my head, biting back a choked sob. I hated my magic. I absolutely _hated_ it. I would do anything to get rid of it. The only reason I was here in FairyTail was because I needed strong mages around me, for the time being. I couldn't protect myself if _they_ came and I didn't have any magic, even though I despised using it. Sometimes, it just happened.

And then everything would be destroyed.

I didn't like being in such a crowded, populated space, like Magnolia, but it was the last thing Master, now dead, said to me.

_His voice came out frail and muffled. "You have to get away, Kura and Aiko." He told us. "Run, run for the hills and don't look back! They're after you and your magic. Surround yourself in other people who could protect you, more powerful than us!" _

_ He looked at me, eyes glazed. Master was dying, and I couldn't do anything about it. The blossoming red stain of the wound glittered mockingly on the side of his chest. Aiko was crying next to me._

_ "Kura... Aiko... you have to leave..." _

_ "No!" I cried. "I'm not going without you." It was one of those rare times that I disobeyed Masters direct order, but I wasn't leaving. I hugged him around the neck. "We—" my voice came out stutter from choking back all the tears. "We—we'll go find a hospital nearly and they'll fix you up!" _

_ "Master..." _

_ "Master!" _

_ It was too late. He was dead. Suddenly, a magical spear flew down and impaled Masters dead body, and Aiko, quick thinking, grabbed the back of my dress and pulled me back fast. A minor explosion came from it, and we were thrown back slightly, barely injured from the rubble. _

_ "Master!" I was really crying now. I looked at the distance, where two men spotted me. "They're over here!" they called. _

_ I took a quick glance at the Masters body, still impaled on the spear. "You—you—" I was so angry I couldn't get my mouth to form the words. I stood up, grabbing my sword, ready to get revenge on these two people who killed my adoptive father. Suddenly, before I could take another step, there was a blinding flash of dark light. _

I wondered how I woke up in the center of a mile long crater, where all the trees were pushed back and there was nobody there. Aiko was beside me, unconscious but alive. I looked around for a bit, and then realized that there were no birds chirping. Or insects. Or _people_.

We flew back to the Church, Aiko carrying me, but it was only left half standing. And when we went inside, not even a bone or dead body to show of the massacre of the previous night. Then I realized the authorities would arrive soon. I would be in major trouble if we were discovered. _"They're after you and your magic!"_

So Aiko and I left, and travelled a good distance, until I heard of the FairyTail guild, which was famous of winning the Grand Magic Games a few months ago. _"Surround yourself in people who can protect you."_ I thought that would be a good place to start. So we headed there and got in the guild, renting a room at Fairy Hills, where I was once again surrounded by strong female mages. It wouldn't be good going on our own. I wouldn't tell anyone of my magic, or my predicament. Only Aiko alive knew.

Another few blocks crashed down in front of me. I looked up, startled. The pink-haired dragon slayer looked at me, grinning. "Let's see you do these just as fast."

He was testing me. I steadied the sword, and cut them all up the same size.

I pointed to one. "That one's too small." When he inspected the block, I showed him. "If I cut it up more it'll be _way_ too small."

He huffed. "Might as well destroy it then." He lifted the block and threw it into the air, with only one hand, then jumped up to follow it. His fist lit on fire, and then he punched the block into pieces. Aiko dodged a giant piece of rock that was aimed at her, once again silent. She tended to become shy when she was around anyone else but me.

We exchanged happy glances, the same thought on our minds. I didn't know the extent of their magics, but both Lucy and Natsu were pretty powerful. If all the guild members were half this strong, they could do a fine job if we were in trouble.

Not that I liked using them, Aiko had a real problem against it, but she respected Master as much as I did. If my magic was this powerful and people needed it for... whatever they needed it for, we needed to get some allies on our side. I still felt uncomfortable about it though. Especially if there were any... accidents.

Taurus, Virgo, and Leo, Lucy's spirits, all grabbed some blocks and hefted them on their shoulders. They walked over to their Master who was telling them where to place the blocks.

Natsu looked at her accusingly. "Lucy, you said you were only gonna summon up _Virgo and Taurus_. Now Leo's in it too! You're gonna use up too much of your magic."

The edges of my mouth twitched into a smile. He was awfully protective of her. "Are you two by any chance dating?" I asked them.

The two turned to look at me. "Date him/her?!" they said at the same time. "No way!" they wrinkled their noses at each other.

"I would never date her. She's too loud! Always complaining about her rent." Natsu said confidently, and Lucy spun around to glare at him.

"Excuse me? Just because I'm a little frustrated that every flipping time we go on a job, flame-brain, you have to destroy something, doesn't mean that I'm loud! And if anything, you're louder than I am!" she hissed.

The two of them went head to head. "At least I don't complain about every single thing in my life!"

Aiko and I looked at each other again. We'd perfected the art of understanding looks, and right now her eyes were telling me that we needed to do something.

"Well, at least _I'm_ not a flame eating, throwing, minded maniac!

"Take that back."

"You first."

"I'll say sorry when you do it first!"

"Well then fine, we're never gonna apologize to each other in a million years!"

I thought it was time to intervene, especially it was me, indirectly, who started the argument. I stepped between the two. "Lucy, Natsu, you guys don't have to fight like this."

Natsu grinned and punched his fists together. "Okay. We can go fist-to-fist instead." Lucy gasped slightly and called her spirits over.

"Bring it on, Flame-brain." She looked quite menacing with three of her powerful spirits behind her. Her hand near her key ring told me she was prepared to summon more. Aiko joined me, hands spread out on her sides. She could carry me with her wings, but she wasn't that physically strong. She was shy too, but she _hated_ fighting and would often scold people bravely if they started to.

"Stop!" I went between them both. "That's not what I meant, Natsu. I meant you should cherish your nakama or friends while you still can. You shouldn't fight!" we were trying to stop an impending war, and I was prepared to get out my sword.

The two of them hesitated, and then turned away to get back to their jobs. "Fine." They glared at each other from the corner of their eyes.

I exhaled. That was close.

About an hour later, more guild members came to see what was going on outside, and saw the four of us working on our project. Soon, many people came out, including someone named Max, who worked with Sand Magic. It made forming bricks much easier, because all Natsu had to do was use his Fire Dragons Roar to harden them and give them to me and Erza. I could feel the stares on our backs as we chopped through the blocks as quickly as they came, all perfectly sized. The celestial spirits and guild members had a hard time keeping up with us, piling the bricks on top of each other. Aiko was playing a game of 'dodge the flying rocks' with herself and listening to the conversation.

Lucy and Natsu still refused to look at one another, keeping their eyes carefully trained on the work they were doing. The red-haired knight, Erza, caught me staring.

"Don't worry about them." she said. "Natsu and Lucy never stay mad at each other for too long."

"Does this happen often?" Aiko asked her curiously.

"Not really," she said, chopping an uneven brick into a block. "And even if those two threaten to leave or fight, they always come back to their senses. Eventually, or I go over there and knock some sense into them both."

I looked at the two of them, glaring at one another from either sides of the field. I decided to change the subject, because the nickname of the legendary Titania was beginning to settle in. "So how long have you been here, Titania?"

Erza chuckled. "Just call me Erza. I don't even know who gave me the nickname "Titania" anyway. I've been here for awhile now." her eyes took a distant look, as if she were thinking of something long and sad.

"Something happened before that?" I asked quietly.

Erza looked at me, half-smiling. "Someone I used to know."

"I understand the feeling." I caved, spilling out the words before I could stop myself. "Someone recently died. One of my... best friends. I really cared about him, and now he's gone." I shut my mouth before I said anything more. Aiko glanced at me, slightly shocked that I spilled. She usually had a harder time than I did covering up our past life.

"I'm sorry for your loss." There was a long silence.

"Let's change to a lighter subject," the knight suggested. I nodded, not wanting to spill anything else about my history. I didn't need anyone knowing.

Me and Erza chatted, Aiko piping in every so often, while casually breaking apart bricks, when she pointed out my weapon. "It's a fine sword you have there Kura," she said.

I nodded. "I've had this blade for a long time now."

The knight bent down and looked at the metal. "You must take extreme cautions to keep it sharp. There isn't a single scratch, nick, or bite on it, yet you said you've had it for a long time."

I inwardly winced and I saw my furry little friend swallow. We should have thought that the legendary Titania wouldn't skip over small details like that. "It's a magic blade," I said. Erza looked up, the sunlight gleaming off of her armour.

"What type of magic does it do?"

I hadn't come prepared to hide that question. There was no use making up a flimsy lie now. "Look."

I didn't have any magic to use right now, so I let the sword use the energy already pre-stored inside. I will it to change form, and it obliged, beginning to glow harshly before dulling again, but this time; it was in the form of a heavy four-tipped spear. I lifted it until it rested on my shoulder. It was much heavier than normal spears, and only the most skilled spearspeople would even be able to throw it, much more throw it accurately. Some of the nearest guild members came and looked at my new lance.

"Each tip is designed with four different magics. You can see on the edges of the metal." I explained. "Fire, water, earth, and electricity." At the outlines of each tip, you could see the four elements with their colours shining dully, in red, green, blue, and yellow.

"Interesting. Where did you get it?" Erza asked. I shifted uncomfortably.

"I don't actually know. I've had it for as long as I remember." I lied. "It changes into seven forms. Dagger, sword, magic sword, heavy lance, scythe, and large axe."

Erza raised an eyebrow. "You only named six."

"Hmm?"

"You only named six changes. What's the seventh?" I didn't notice the slip, and I was now mentally hitting myself on the head. Of course this woman would notice!

"It's um... difficult to explain."

Some of the guild Fairies protested against this. "Why can't you just show us?" someone demanded. I swallowed. I really didn't want to show my most powerful weapon, especially since it was prone to backfiring.

"Umm..."

Erza stood up, glaring at her nakamas. "People," she said. "Let Kura have some air! If she doesn't want to do something, you don't have to make her do it. I'm ashamed with you people." Everyone ducked their heads at her words and left quickly.

Erza turned back to her work and sighed. "These people, I mean really!" Aiko and I chuckled lightly.

* * *

Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three is here! Yay! **

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**Natsus POV **

I felt the tingling sensation of the fire rise up in my throat and then let the pressure build, finally letting it bellow out my mouth and drying the blocks in front of me. I took one in my hand and threw it to Elfman, who caught it with some difficulty. The burly mage turned around to give it to Erza and Kura, who were chopping their blocks away, shouting something about, "helping out is man!"

I spotted Lucy at the other end of the field, directing her spirits to rebuild the entrance. I scowled when Leo, her pretty-boy lion spirit, wrapped his arm around her shoulders and laughed at what she was saying. Despite what she said earlier, I could see the sweat starting to bead on her forehead from trying to keep three gates open at a time.

Stupid her, trying to help too much. I knew her well enough that later she was gonna stumble her way home and collapse on her bed, and then take a shower after one of her naps. She was complaining that opening all of those gates were nothing, but Lucy would do anything to help. Lucy's Celestial Spirit Magic was tiring after a long time, because she was literally opening a gate to another world, and, I'll admit it, it makes me worry about her sometimes.

Of course, I worry about everyone in FairyTail. I would do anything for my nakamas! Erza, Master, Wendy, Juvia, and even Princess Ice stripper Gray. It was just that Lucy was part of original team Natsu, and we were partners, plus Happy, so we had to look out for each other.

That reminded me; where was my blue cat?

At that moment, Happy flew in, narrowly dodging a spurt of fire from my fire breath and landing beside me. "Wasup?" I asked him.

He ignored my question. "So, what happened between you and Luuuuucy?" He grinned. I turned back to the blocks I was working on and growled.

"Nothing." I replied gruffly.

Happy cocked his head. "Natsu, you are a terrible liar. You look all grumpy and stuff, and I saw you two fighting with each other earlier."

I scowled, then told him what was on my mind. "Lucy's gonna make herself too tired, opening and closing gates like that."

"Aye, I have to agree, but what are ya gonna do? It is _Lucy_ after all." My blue Exceed shrugged. Wait. _Since when did he have a broad perspective like that? _I thought.

"I mean, Lucy's as stubborn as you are."

"Hey!" I cried. "I'm not stubborn!" Happy only sprout his wings and took off howling. I chased after him, laughing, but he stayed just ahead of my fingertips. Happy giggled. "Betcha' can't catch me Natsu!" he flew forwards, and I jumped over a pile of bricks in my way.

"Come 'ere cat!" I put a tiny bit of my fire magic underneath my feet, so I flew into the air, landing on the ground in front of Happy. He froze, the grin etched on his face, waiting for one of us to make a move, and then he flew upwards before I could react. "That's so cheating!" I protested against this, "I can't reach you up there!"

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned around. Erza was glaring at me, and I froze. Behind her was chaos, with broken bricks and burnt mages everywhere. _Oops... I guess I put too much fire power in that jump..._

"Natsu!" a voice shouted angrily. It was Lucy. Erza let the angry blonde mage pass.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" her brown eyes flashed, and there was a dark aura around her. I swallowed; suddenly my white scaled scarf felt a tiny bit too tight. Lucy wasn't usually scary, unless you made her mad. It didn't happen often, her bouncing-back abilities were amazing on their own, but if she was really upset she was as scary as Erza after you took her cake.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded again, pointing a finger at my chest.

"I—I was playing with Happy." I stammered.

"And you had to wreck everything else too?" she showed me behind her at the destruction that I had caused.

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Hehe... about that..."

"Natsu..!" Her voice rose.

I swallowed.

She glared at me, waiting for an answer, but when I didn't give her one, she started a rant. "Why do you have to be so damned destructive Natsu? I mean seriously, you can't play a flippin' game without creating chaos! Couldn't you control your over-powered magic in the slightest? You can't get away with everything you know, and one day you're gonna get yourself in major trouble. You better control your fire magic better, or stop with these childish—" She broke off, so fuming that she couldn't finish the sentence. Her hands clenched into fists.

The words were out before I could stop them. I'd snapped. "Or what?"

She turned to look at me, disbelief shadowing her eyes, which quickly turned into fiery anger. "Natsu, you're gonna get in trouble with the flippin Magic council and land yourself in jail after destroying yet another town. You don't know the meaning of stop, do you? You always go overboard," She snapped. "How much money had to go to repairing the buildings on one of our jobs? Or fixing monuments? Or—"

"Just because I like to have some fun some times, unlike you, doesn't mean I'm childish."

She closed her mouth, dumbfounded, and then there was a startling _CRACK_. Lucy had struck me across the cheek. At that moment, I wished I could suck words right back into my mouth, because the look on her face before she burst out of the guild, wet-eyed, was covered in misery and despair. Her spirits disappeared, save Leo, who gave me a hard look before going back to the Spirit World. The other guild members stared, but Erza broke the silence.

She took a fistful of my hair and dragged me out of the guild. I didn't protest in the slightest, even though it hurt. I was too shell-shocked by what I just did.

Erza dragged me along for a while, until we were at Lucy's house. She angrily pulled me up by my collar, like a kitten, and pinned me against the wall, sword in hand.

"What the hell were you thinking?" she demanded, keeping the sword at my throat, "when you told your teammate that?"

"I wasn't." I said bitterly, my mind replaying the scene over and over.

"Natsu, you are a disgrace to FairyTail right now, do you know that? The first thing I want to see you do is go make it up to Lucy. What you said hurt her feelings, and I don't want to see a great friendship like yours to be ruined. It isn't like you to be like that, especially to your partner."

I nodded. I felt a pit of despair settle in my stomach, turning and broiling in my stomach, like I could finally feel the fire stored in it. What I did was wrong, and it was wrong for me to snap.

"I'm gonna let her cool off. Lucy won't want to see me right now." I pushed Erza away, not afraid of the consequences for once, and started walking home, feeling miserable.

For once, I hated my Dragon hearing; I could hear Lucy crying from the top window in her house.

* * *

I opened the door to my house, seeing Happy sitting on the mould-eaten couch. He looked up when he saw me, but didn't say anything when I stomped on past him.

I really wanted to be alone right now, but it was wrong to ask my cat partner to leave. Unfortunately, it was a one-room house, not including the extremely small bathroom, so there was nowhere else to go.

"Natsu, are you okay?" Happy snapped me back from my thoughts.

"No, I'm not." I growled. My best friend frowned and got up, grabbing onto my trouser leg to stop my anxious pacing.

"Don't worry about it. Eventually you guys will make up become friends again, aye?" The thing was, I wasn't even sure that it would, or at least, if it would ever fade from my mind. It was like a burn mark, permanently scorched onto my brain.

"I don't know," I finished the conversation, shoving my hands into the waistline of my pants and looking away, mentally beating myself up.

That night, I didn't fall asleep, because I was scared of what would happen if I did.

* * *

The next day, I stumbled after Happy into the guild, and crashed into the counter before sitting on a barstool. "Hey Mira." I slurred. "How's it going?"

The barwoman looked at me, leaned in and sniffed. "Oh my god. Natsu, were you drinking last night?" she demanded.

"Maybe, maybe not." I did a big shrug, giggled then hiccupped. I couldn't think straight, because last night, I went to the nearest tavern and drank my anger away, until Happy finally flew me out. "Hey, where's Lucy? I wanted to go on a job with her!"

My flying cat partner looked at me funnily. "Natsu, you don't remember? Are you really that drunk?" he asked.

"Well, I don't remember... whatever you're talking about, but I sure am drunk!" I laughed and tipped over, only for Happy to pull me back up.

"Where is Lucy?"

Erza walked by. "Is Natsu drunk?" she demanded. I nodded sloppily and hiccupped again. Erza sighed then sat next to me, staring at me hard. "Lucy went on a job with Levy. She said, and I quote, 'don't you dare let that flame-headed moron even close to me, because I hate him and never want to see him again. Natsu's a big, fat, flaming, over-confident #$&^ and I give you permission to beat him up if he tries to follow me.'"

"What happened?" I asked her. The shock of what she said was a tiny bit mind-clearing.

Erza glared. "Wait until you're not drunk." She promptly sat forward and didn't say another word.

I thought hard, and it started to come back. "Why did I do that to Lucy?" I asked her, still not getting it. "Why would I do that to Lucy?"

She ignored me, but I pressed on. "Erza, why?"

"I don't know why you would be so stupid as to make our team mate cry! I don't know Natsu!" she got up from her stool, but I grabbed onto her arm. She sent a sideways glance at me, daring me to speak. but I didn't really care about it at that moment. I was trying to figure why I would say that to Lucy, and I wasn't giving up until I found out.

I guess my sense of logic was twisted, because I should have been asking myself, but Erza pulled out of my grip, and grasped the back of my vest, pulling me along out of the guild. Again.

"Ow, ow, ow!" I whined. Erza ignored me.

The place that she brought me to was surprising. It was the place where we had the rainbow Sakura festival, in front of the tree that I'd dug up for Lucy.

She turned to me. "Do you remember, Natsu, when Lucy was sick so she couldn't go to see the rainbow Sakuras, so you uprooted this tree and sent it floating down the canal beside her home so she could see it? Or the time she believed you enough to jump off a tower, trusting you'd catch her? or when—" she sighed. "my point is, you're always helping her, and her to you. You can't let a petty fight like this tear you friendship apart, all that you been through together."

"And getting drunk doesn't help. Apologizing does." She added. "You don't want Lucy to see you like this, do you?" I shook my head.

"Go get Wendy and see if she can help fix you up before Lucy gets back. She picked a short mission that's not too far. She'll be back within the day." Erza pointed towards the guild.

I turned my back and started running back, but her voice stopped me. "Natsu, I'll only forgive you if you get Lucy's forgiveness first. What you did was still wrong, and I'm very angry about it. I'm just trying to help you set things right."

I nodded again, then ran back to the guild, as fast as I could on shaky legs.

* * *

**Lucy's POV**

I stepped out of the train, hand shielded over my eyes to block out the sun. "Lu-chan, over here!" Levy cried. We just had a good job finished over by the next town that was well paying, with no destroyed buildings, and I wasn't feeling half-bad.

When I ignored the anger to Natsu.

Once I got over the sadness, there was a building feeling of fury, and I so desperately wanted to kick him in the crotch. Just once. Hard.

The stupid idiot. I was fuming when I thought of him. Even though, technically, he was only looking out for me at first, he _had_ to go destroy all the hard work we did. He did it every time, whether it was a mission, a job, or just around or in the guild, and I was sick of it.

SICK.

Levy pulled on my arm, disrupting my thoughts. "You're still thinking about him?" she asked quietly.

"I'm not thinking about HIM! I'm thinking about what he did." I snapped, and then recoiled. I shouldn't pen out my anger on my friends, I thought. "Sorry Levy. I didn't mean to snap."

"Don't worry about it. What Natsu did yesterday was really mean. I don't know what had gotten into him. He's never been like that, but it doesn't give him an excuse for what he did." My best bud smiled lightly.

We walked back to the guild, chatting about new book we'd just read, the hottest authors, or how my story was going, which I quickly cut off. She laughed.

We stepped into the guild hall, and Mira greeted us from the counter. "Hi!" she called us over.

"So how was the job?" she asked when we took two stools.

"Good. That criminal was sure hard to catch though." Our job this time was catching a jewel theft. Because he had no magic, it was pretty simple, I caught him with the help of Virgo, and Levy brought him to the police station with the solid-script word TRAP. Unfortunately, the little man was very fast, and we had to go on a bit of a chase.

"Hey Lucy!"

I stiffened, and Mira looked up in surprise, her features quickly turning into a grimace. A strong arm put itself on my shoulder, and the face of a grinning pink-haired Dragon Slayer popped into view.

"You wanna go on a job?" he asked. Natsu waited patiently for an answer.

"No. In fact, I really don't." I snapped at him. I wouldn't pen out my anger at Levy, but Natsu was fair game.

His eyes turned pleading. "are- are you okay Luce?" he was hoping that yesterday- no, _everything_ would be all right once I got back, but I was still extremely mad at him

"Don't 'Luce' me!" I stood up, pushing the chair back roughly. "You know perfectly well I'm not fine right now, and I am not letting the, 'but we're partners,' excuse get in the way. I'm not going on a job with you." I declared, crossing my arms across my chest, and turning my cheek towards him, nose high in the air.

Natsu looked bummed, but turned around and left, shoulders sloped and posture slouched. I instantly felt the tiniest bit sorry for him, but I covered it up quickly. I would not feel any ounce of pity on him.

Erza sat down beside me. "Would you like to go on a mission, Lucy?" I looked at her, slightly startled.

"Yeah, sure." I said, smiling widely. "Just as long as Natsu's not coming with us." I knew with Natsus dragon hearing and him being a not too far distance, he would hear it. I saw him stiffen. _Take that, you fiery moron._

"Nope. Natsu won't be coming." Erza confirmed. "I thought we could bring Kura and Aiko." She turned towards the taller mage and Exceed, who were sitting in a corner alone, calmly eating two plates of food, a smaller one for the purple cat.

_As Natsus replacement. _I finished silently for her. I didn't want to drag the pair into this, but the chance was just too sweet. I could see Natsu, with his back turned, stand up roughly, and walking out of the guild.

Erza frowned. "Lucy. This isn't about getting revenge on Natsu, is it? I meant this mission to be a peaceful and friendly one. Not a vengeance trip."

I didn't reply with anything but an "I'll stop." Erzas mouth turned down in the slightest, but she stood up and I followed her example. "We'll need to ask them if she wants to come first." Titania told me. We walked up to her table. The both of them were talking quietly, but they quickly shut their mouths when we approached them.

"Hello, Lucy and Erza."

"Hey! Would you like to go on a mission with us?"

"We have to rat out a dark guild." Erza added.

They glanced at each other, and silent words seemed to be passed. Kura looked at us, her lips tight. "I'm afraid we can't go." She said.

"Aww..." I was bummed out. "Why not?"

Her eyes went a tiny bit wider. "Umm... cause I—"

"We have to prepare for something. Something coming up." Aiko blurted out.

"What's coming up?" I asked.

They two looked at each other again. Kura finally won the silent argument, and she stood up. "We'll go. We'll put aside the project for later."

They seemed awfully against it though.

"Okay. We'll meet up at the train station in an hour and a half, to give you some time to get ready."

Kura looked at me, faintly smiling, as if I made a funny joke. "I'm already ready." She had a small travelling bag beside her. It didn't look as if it could hold much, but I took her word for it.

"Gray!" I called him over. "We're going on a mission!"

The dark haired ice mage walked over, looking faintly surprised. "Now?" he asked.

Erza nodded. "It's me, Lucy, Kura, Aiko, and you. We'll wait for you to find your clothes first before we leave."

He looked down, noticing now that he was in his boxers. He cried out. Gray had a funny stripping habit, supposedly from the person that taught him ice magic. He would be in his boxers all of a sudden and as quick as lightning, without him even noticing it. Gray ran off to try and find his clothes.

A few minutes later, he was fully clothed and had a large bag next to him. "I'm ready."

Erza nodded, and then whacked him on the head. "Ow! What was that for?" Gray demanded.

"For taking too long." I sweatdropped because it only took him two minutes, but I didn't try and defend him.

We walked out the guild, Gray, Erza and I making friendly conversation, but Kura and Aiko lagging behind and staying oddly silent.


	4. Chapter 4

** Yay! Chapter 4 is here! I just recently edited it, but I have [next to] all the other chapters written. all I need to do is edit and post them! this chapter is only 1 POV [done by Kura] because this chapter's kinda long. **

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**Kuras POV **

I walked behind the ting gang, keeping them within eyesight but franticly thinking of an excuse to leave.

We shouldn't be here. We _couldn't_ be here. If there was the slightest chance that they knew who I was, I would be kicked out or worse... I shivered. Brought to _them_.

I knew the reputation of FairyTail, as a crazy, out of control guild but highly recommended for jobs, if you didn't mind some destroyed building here and there. Before Aiko and I came here, we needed to do some research on the individual members first. I recognized the three in front of me.

Gray Fullbuster, a highly-skilled ice mage, trained by ice master Ur before she died. He had a history with Deliora the monster, before it shattered into pieces. He has a constant habit of stripping and has a rivalry with Natsu Dragneel.

Erza Scarlet, an S-class requipping-type wizard, her abilities with any type of weapon are fantastic. She's beaten more large sized monsters than anyone in Fiore, but she loves strawberry cake. She ran away from the Tower of Heaven, or the R-system, when she was little and has been with FairyTail ever since. She is legendary for defeating a hundred monsters at one time during the Grand Magic Games.

And Lucy Heartfilia, Celestial spirit mage, ran away from home when she was younger. She has many of the twelve golden gate keys, and treats them well. She's in a team with Natsu Dragneel and Happy the Exceed, _but I didn't know how that was going to work out now._

The three handed in their tickets and went on into the train. My vision blurred a bit, not really focusing on anything, when I saw the flash of pink. I narrowed my eyes, walking forward and shoving my ticket into the ticket mans hands, making him yelp, pushing past people until I saw him. Aiko looked forwards where my gaze was headed and spotted him too. It was Natsu, looking up at the train and looking a tiny bit green.

"I'm doing this for Lucy, I'm doing this for Lucy..." he was muttering to himself, the mantra didn't seem to work, because he still seemed slightly sick. Aiko sighed.

Natsu Dragneel, an excelling Fire Dragon Slayer who had an eye for destruction. He was raised by the fire dragon Igneel, raised a tiny Exceed named Happy, best friends with Lucy Heartfilia, _although once again, I still didn't know how that was going to work out..._ and had extreme motion sickness.

"Natsu!" I called, not happily. He turned and looked at the voice, paling considerably.

"K—Kura! Aiko!" he immediately went on his knees, begging. The sight caused many passersby to look at us, making us sweatdrop and blush. "Please don't tell Lucy that I'm following her! I just want to make sure she's okay, you know? I swear I will not barge in or destroy anything; it'll be like I'm not even there! Please Kur-"

Aiko piped in quietly, folding her arms across her chest and looking away shyly. "I don't think Lucy will appreciate it if she finds out."

"But we won't tell anyone." I finished the sentence for her, biting the inside of my cheek. Why was I being so nice to him?

He jumped up and hugged me, grinning. "Thank you Kura, thank you!" he squeezed me tighter, and my mouth opened slightly. "I—I uh... have to get on the train before the others start to notice, can uh... you let go?"

He let go, and looking at the train again, started to turn green. My eyebrows rose and my mouth quirked into a frown. "I'll be fine." He waved my concerned look off, and then covered his mouth with his hand. "I think I'm gonna be..." he couldn't finish the sentence. I giggled a bit, because he wasn't even _on_ the train yet.

"Good luck," I wished him, but he didn't seem to notice. He climbed onto the back of a cart and opened the door inside, still looking a little green. Once he left, Aiko turned into her usual self.

"That boy." Was all she said.

We walked back to our train cart, where the Fairies were waiting for us.

Lucy looked up. "Hey Kura. Where were you?"

I blinked. "At the... trying to find a snack. I was feeling hungry." The others looked at me funny. I knew I was a terrible liar, and _one of these days it would uncover my secret_, I thought bitterly. Aiko was better at making excuses than I was. There had been no reason for me to lie at the Church, mostly because I didn't do anything bad in the first place, but also because Master used Truth Magic. It would tell if a person was lying or not. I tried lying once, but it was in dire circumstances. Aiko and Master were the only other people who knew my secret.

I was dying to tell the Dragon Slayers what I knew, but it would raise too many questions that I couldn't answer. And some answers I didn't even know.

A soft paw was put on my shoulder, snapping me out of me thoughts. Erza had been calling my name out for awhile. Whoops. She had been saying my name for awhile now, but I wasn't paying attention.

"Yes?" I said, smiling a tiny bit too widely.

"If you're hungry, you could have just asked." She handed me a package of potato chips out of her humongous pile of luggage, which she somehow managed to convince the conductor to let on.

"thanks." I really wasn't hungry right now, but I shoved it down to make the lie seem a little bit more believable. "So where's this dark guild?" I asked, popping a chip in my mouth. I needed to know every detail of this job, just in case something went wrong. My purple partner was quiet once again.

"It's east from here, and quite a far distance. The guild is said to be located in the ruins of an abandoned church. It's a new guild, but has been creating a lot of trouble for the nearby town." We froze at Erzas words. We sent each other another look, having the same thought. 'East, far away, dark guild, abandoned church...'

"Is something wrong?" Gray leaned in, noticing our fright.

"No—nothing." Aiko waved a hand in front of her face, smiling coyly, all sense of fear seemingly gone. _Was it my Church?_ We asked ourselves. The one I destroyed, and now a dark guild was using it for their base of operations? I swallowed; my air pipe seemed to close up, leaving me breathless.

If it was, I was definitely going with them. I wasn't letting some dirty guild make my home filthy. My mind was swamped with anger, hungry for revenge. I leaned back, looking out the window and biting my cheek. I couldn't wait to get there.

* * *

It was a days ride away, so I slept on the cushioned bench. When I opened my eyes, I was leaning on Lucy's shoulder. Aiko was asleep on my lap. I pulled back quickly, and the Celestial spirit mage looked at me. "Oh, you're awake."

"Uh—umm... sorry." I waved my hands in front of my face.

Lucy smiled. "I don't mind at all. Keep using me as a pillow if you want. I'm not very tired." The look on her face was telling me she was recounting something bad.

"Are you still thinking about him?" I asked quietly. She looked at me, surprised.

"Y—yeah. I guess so." She admitted. "I can't stay angry at him for long, curse me, but I am still."

I leaned back on the bench. "I used to have a friend like that. He irritated me very much, and we argued a lot, and even said some words that aren't meant to be said, but we always came back as friends." _Until he died, _I thought bitterly. Aiko would have scolded me for talking about it, and I knew I had to cover it up and change the subject quickly.

"What happened to him?" she asked, cutting off any way of escape.

I made up a lie. "Ren? He died of a sickness." It was the first believable lie I made all day.

"Oh. I'm sorry for your loss." She looked down. "I—some of the members of FairyTail went through a seven year time jump, and as it happened, somewhere along the line, my father died. I had only recently made up with him before that, but then the skip happened, and I never saw him alive again."

"I guess we have something in common." I said sadly, remembering Ren. He was just an expert as I was with a sword, and we were best friends. He couldn't use any magic, but instead he took his hobby into irritating me. Ren drove me off the wall sometimes, until the attack, and me going on the run. I missed him, and wished I could do a proper burial for him, but when I returned, there were no remains of anything except the Church, and it was already half-wrecked.

"All FairyTail members do, sort of. We all stick together as a family, because for some of us, that's all we have left." She smiled "we may fight, or argue, but eventually we all come back." Lucy turned away, smiling tightly, cutting off the conversation.

We didn't talk again, until she fell asleep.

About an hour later, looking out the window, I did too.

* * *

"Passengers, please get off if your stop is Chatherville! I repeat, Chatherville!"

I woke up at the conductor's voice, and everyone shifting to get up. I shook Lucy, Erza, and Gray awake. "Guys, wake up." They opened their eyes groggily, but stood up, stretching their legs.

"Good morning!" Lucy said sleepily, rubbing her face.

Aiko nodded, yawning, tail waving in the air. She straightened out her dress.

"How did you guys sleep?" Gray asked, already in his boxers.

"Gray, your clothes."

The ice mage grinned sheepishly, bent down and picked up his clothes on the floor. His tugged them on quickly.

"Anyways, I slept well, but I kept hearing strange noises. It sounded like groaning." Erza said. Aiko looked at me, eyes smiling playfully. Could it be Natsu? That reminded me that we should go check up on him. Not that I was taking his side, but if he was unconscious he could be going for another day-long trip.

"I'm gonna go out and stretch my legs a bit, is that okay?" I asked. Erza nodded. "We've never been here before-" _[I have been,]_ "so we'll go sightseeing maybe. Meet us back at Beeline Inn in three hours, and then we'll go to the job."

I nodded then went outside. I did want to stretch, but I was checking on Natsu before the train left again. "it really is our home." Aiko said when we went outside. I swallowed and nodded. The town was familiar; it was only a two hour walk from the ruins.

"We're not gonna let them get away with it, are we?" I asked her. She smiled faintly and shook her head hard.

"We haven't been here in a year. It already looks different." She looked around. It didn't think it was true.

"I don't think it's the town, I think we changed." I said softly, but with her hearing she caught onto it. She pouted a little, but nodded in agreement.

I headed towards the back carts, and pressed my ear to the doors. A faint groaning noise came from the third last one. The door creaked open after a giant pull and I smiled at the pink-haired Dragon Slayer inside in a heap.

"I can't be here for long, so I'm just gonna get you off before the train leaves. The team is going to meet up at Beeline Inn in three hours, then we're gonna go on the job. It's your responsibility if you're caught, and I _swear_ I will deny it if you try and drag me into it." I didn't know why I was being so helpful to him but probably because he reminded me of Ren.

He nodded. "Just—just get me off of this train!" Natsu moaned. Aiko chuckled, then grabbing onto his vest, pulled him out. She left his body where it was, and we walked/flew away from the train station.

Chatherville was a lesser-known merchant's town. There wasn't much around it but forests and plains. About a year ago, there was a magic created explosion- guess who, -that just ran out of power at its borders, luckily for me. I didn't visit often, even though it was only a two-hour long hike, because I was told to stay near the Church. Here they sold everything from clothes to furniture to magic-based items to little trinkets.

That reminded me. I walked down the road, swerving by people until Aiko and I stood in front of a certain merchants shop. We weren't concerned about the actual shop, but underneath it. The owner didn't know that there was a secret passageway right...

There. I pressed the brick, and, looking behind me quickly, went down the stairway that magically appeared there. Aiko closed it behind us quickly, and I leaned against the slightly moist wall and sighed. No one could come in here, unless invited by me or my partner. Everyone else that could was dead, so we were the only two left. You would have to destroy the entire top building to get down here. I smiled. The dampness didn't bother me, or the old, almost dangerous, scent. I grabbed one of the torches that magically lit up when I came in, and walked carefully down the stairs, my purple friend making her wings disappear and walking behind me.

We reached the bottom, and smiled at the many old scrolls stacked down here. Bookshelf after bookshelf was filled with them. They were all in excellent condition, being protected with a thin layer of magic to keep them dry, and each was put in its own place. It was very neat and tidy, despite it being absolutely full. All the scrolls were on ancient magic and old stories, and even things that were so important people would kill for them. Spells so powerful that they could blow away a town with hardly any effort. [I didn't really need spells like that. Been there, done that.]

I picked up a random scroll off the bookshelf and, sitting on a slightly mouldy chair, started reading. Aiko leaned over my shoulder.

_In the year 300, the mighty Dragons ruled the earth. They were kings, highly worshipped by the puny humans. But one day, a certain dragon disagreed with this, claiming that Dragons and Humans should live together as one. The dragons took sides, agreeing and disagreeing with the first dragon. War broke out, but at first, the Human sided dragons were losing the battles. They were losing ground, so the dragons made an idea. Dragon Slayer Magic was given to the puny humans so that they could protect themselves. It was only given to few though, because of the immense power. The Human sided dragons started to lash back, and slowly started to win the war. _

_ But the dragons did not anticipate that the humans, loving their new power, would start slaying _all_ the dragons, even the ones on their side. One Dragon Slayer was famous for bathing in the blood of dragons, and was said to turn into a dragon himself. Around that time, the dragons suddenly disappeared. Eventually the war faded into the background, but it is unknown if there are any dragons left on Earthlan-_

I sighed, and then carefully placed the scroll back. I'd read the story before, and although it was an interesting read, I didn't feel like it.

Aiko looked at me. "hey! I was reading that!" I giggled, then handed the almost-as-big-as-her scroll to the Exceed. She opened it and started reading. I liked any type of genre, but Aiko was strictly historical fiction.

I picked up three scrolls on Ice magic, Celestial Spirit magic, and Requipping magic. I never knew if I had to turn on the FairyTail mages, even though I was starting to like them.

_Requipping magic allows users to change clothing, armour, or weapon quickly. The number of objects that can be summoned or stored depends on the magic power of the mage. _

_ Ice magic allows the user to manipulate and create ice at will, almost instantly. If powerful enough, an ice mages magic can stand up to a fire mage. _

_ Not much is known about Celestial Spirit magic, because it is one of the least used magics. The power of the mage can tell how many spirits one can summon at a time, and for how long. It is a hard magic to use, because the mage is opening a gate to another world, and the power of the magic depends what spirit the mage summons. To summon a spirit, the mage must have their key and must have a contract with it, if they already have a contract with the mage, they will not be called at all by anyone else. Either person/spirit at the end of the deal can call the contract off whenever they wish. Spirits live in the Celestial Spirit World, a world parallel to ours. _

Not bad. I knew these were old and slightly outdated, but the facts were pretty accurate, as far as I was concerned. It didn't tell me much about fighting their magics, but it certainly was good to know. I put the small scrolls in the pocket of my vest, and then went back into the bookshelves. I flipped through the scrolls quickly, smiling when I found one that I didn't read yet. I put it into my pockets, getting heavier with each scroll. Luckily, they were deep and wide, and the books were tinier than average, but they weren't lightweights.

I called over my friend, and Aiko looked up. She flew over and popped her new scroll into my pocket. "I wanna read it."

We was about to go upstairs and head back to the inn, but I stopped, and as a second thought, grabbed a dusty old scroll and sat back down. It took awhile to find, because it was at the very back of the aisles, but I was curious. Aiko sighed but sat next to me. "Sorry, I just want to check something." She peered over my shoulder.

_Dragon Slayer Magic is one of the rarest magic to find. The specific magic of it can vary, to whoever teaches it to the person. This magic is specifically meant to slay dragons, when the Dragon War was occurring. It was said to only be gifted to a child raised by a dragon or, in rare cases, passed on by birth. This magic allows the user to gain dragon-like abilities, including able to eat their type of magic for energy, and make the mage's element from his or her body. Of course, this magic is almost never seen, because the dragons disappeared around 300, and the magic faded completely a hundred years later. _

"That's what I was reading about!" She cried. It was amazing how loud she could be when she wasn't around people. I chuckled.

"I wonder what provoked them into taking three children in?" I murmured to myself in all seriousness. Akio heard me though.

"You want to tell them, don't you?" she asked me quietly.

I nodded. "One day, maybe, but not now."

Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel were all raised by separate dragons and taught Dragon Slayer magic. And of course, there was Sting and Rogue in the Grand Magic Games, who killed their dragon parents when they were younger. Since these scrolls were old, it didn't tell of the other way to get Dragon Slayer magic by implanting a lacyrima in your body, but those were extremely hard to get anyway.

I put the Dragon Slayer scroll in my pocket, placing it next to the others, and went upstairs. I opened the door, and checking that no one was watching, climbed out. We breathed in gulps of fresh air. It was really dusty down there.

I looked at the sun, and estimated that I still had some time to look around. We walked/flew around the stores and melted in with the crowd. Looking at the wares, I was really tempted to buy something, but I felt my empty pockets and sighed. We had no money.

I was window shopping at the east end of town, when I noticed the group of people hanging around an alleyway. Their clothes, on second glance, were a tiny bit dirty and torn in some places. Most of them looked buff, and had interested looks in their eyes. When they saw me staring, they quickly looked away. Aiko followed my gaze.

I tch-ed. Great. I walked quickly to the other end of the road, and from the corner of my eye, I could see the gang moving too, pushing past people roughly and causing a tiny bit of trouble. They were following us. I wasn't careful enough.

We broke off into a run, heading towards Beeline Inn. I already knew where it was, so I quickly swerved past people and stands, trying to get there as quickly as possible. I needed to find the others. The gang followed behind me, but they were getting closer. I looked behind me, and there they were. The leader, or what seemed to be, grinned at me, then barked at his comrades. I couldn't hear what he said over the commotion, but I could guess just what. The place was too crowded for Aiko to take off with me.

They started running forwards, and I gave up being polite. I jumped over a stall, making the shop owner yell at me, but I couldn't stop and apologize. Throwing myself into the air, Aiko caught me, with a bit of a grunt. She struggled, trying to get high enough. The gang finally let out what they had hidden in their pockets. Magical throwing knives. Several were thrown at us, and Aiko dodged, but one cut off the feather tips of one of her wings. We tumbled to the ground, but I landed on the ground and rolled, taking out some of the pressure. I caught Aiko and started running again.

Her wound wasn't too bad, but of course I worried for my partner. The tip of her wing was cut, and some of the feathers. She bit her lip to stop herself from crying out every time I put my foot down.

Suddenly, there was a loud boom behind me, and I turned and looked. Natsu was there, hands aflame, grinning at me for a split second before punching one of the gang members in the face. The leader got into an argument with him, but Natsu only laughed and then kicked him hard in the gut. The nearby merchants made a cautious circle around the gang and him, cutting Natsu from view. Over the heads, I could see tiny spurts of flame here and there, then Natsu leaped over the crowd and ran, disappearing over a rooftop, leaving the defeated gang members at the mercy of the police.

Just as I was about to turn my back, I saw a quick flash of pink. It was Natsu on the rooftop, just his head poking out. The people on the street didn't seem to notice, more concerned about the soldiers or gang members. The look on his face asked me, "Who were they?"

I shrugged, lying again. "I don't know." I mouthed to him.

"is Aiko okay?" he asked.

I nodded, then put my two fingers slightly apart. Only a tiny scratch.

He pouted, saying he wasn't there fast enough, but I shook my head and told him it would be okay.

He raised an eyebrow, but shook it off. "We're even." He mouthed silently. I smiled tightly and nodded, then his head disappeared over the rooftop.

I walked back to the inn quickly. I put Aiko on her feet. "I know you won't like this, but you need to make your wings disappear inside, then I'll bandage them up when the others aren't looking. You need to act normal."

She nodded, wincing. Her damaged wings popped out of view, but she still flinched. Even though they weren't there, she still felt the pain. We opened the door, Aiko walking straightforward behind me.

"What took you so long?" Lucy asked jokingly.

"Just a tiny hold-up" I lied. I was getting better at it.

"Erza and I already spoke to the client, so we already know where we have to go." Gray said.

I nodded, wanting to go to the bathroom very badly so we could clean up Aikos wound. If the others knew about it, they would ask questions, and ones I really didn't want to raise.

"Get your sword ready Kura." Erza smiled, and walking past me, walked out the door. "We'll be there in two hours. It's a little more east from here. There's a road, so we'll follow that until it breaks off to that old church."

Aiko 'remembered' something. "Umm, Kura? I'm kinda hungry. Could we stop by the snack shop we saw earlier and grab something on the go?" She asked timidly. If you really knew Aiko, you knew she next to never got hungry and asked for food, she usually ate with everyone else.

I looked at them and shrugged. "sure, we'll catch up with you guys. East of here, right?" Erza nodded.

"Okay, but don't take too long." They left.

I waited ten seconds, and then we went into the bathroom. I reached into my bag and grabbed my first aid kit. Quickly, I fixed her wing up, and as a second thought, stopped by a snack-shop and bought a doughnut for us to share. We ate through half of it before we caught up to them, just to make it seem more real.

Ugh, we were doing a terrible job covering this up, weren't we? I thought being surrounded by powerful mages would make it easier to get on, but keeping our secret covered was hardest of all. We finally caught up with the original group, Aiko riding on my shoulder instead of flying. If she backed out now, it would seem too suspicious, she'd argued until I finally obliged. I still didn't like it.

* * *

Two hours later, we were hiding behind some thick trees, discussing our game plan.

"I say we go in and infiltrate the Church, breaking them apart and handling them separately." Gray said. "Whoever gets the big boss has to deal with him."

Lucy frowned. "Couldn't it be a girl?"

The dark haired mage looked at her. "What?"

"I mean, the leader could be a girl. You're being awfully sexist."

Gray rolled his eyes. "Fine. Whoever gets the boss has to deal with him _or_ her."

The Blonde smiled. "That's better." we sweatdropped. She was an interesting character, you had to admit.

"I agree with your plan Gray. We'll flush them out, like we always do." The three of them all looked at the empty spot, Gray opening his mouth to say something but them closed it. The requipper and ice-maker looked down, almost sadly, but Lucy folded her arms across her chest and stuck her nose up.

I was guessing that usually Natsu came with them, and probably, despite their usual plan, he just ploughed right through it.

Gray leaned back on one of the trees, when it cracked under his weight and made him fall. "What the heck?" he demanded.

Erza laughed lightly. "About a year ago, there was a giant, magic-based explosion here. No one knows who caused it or why, but nothing's grown back yet, including the trees." _A-hem. The girl you're looking for is right in front of you._

We went up to the giant doors, and I was hit by a pang of sadness when Gray blew them open, albeit roughly. This is where Aiko and I used to live. The carved wooden doors were large and imposing, but they were nothing compared to a year ago. Last time, it was painted beautifully with a scenic valley, with dragons nesting in their caves and mountains, and the humans living below them. Now the paint was dry and chipped, so much that you couldn't really see the details. The Church itself was half decayed now, with the roof and some of the walls caved in.

It was quite big, and had exactly 34 rooms, if you included the grand entrance, where we walked into now. There used to be rows and rows of benches in the room, all facing the display, but the dark guild ripped them out and shoved them roughly to the side, some destroyed and in splinters. It really did used to be a holy Church, but it was abandoned then Master moved in with some others. Then they found me on their doorstep as a toddler, and took me and raised me as their own. I don't know who my biological mother or father was.

I'd found Aikos egg when I was smaller, about twelve years ago. I was exploring, and literally tripped over the white egg with purple markings. Master let me take care of it until it hatched, and when it did, a tiny furry thing flew out. Everyone was amazed when they realized it was a-

Cat.

A purple cat.

A purple flying cat.

About two years ago, more of her kind, [much more,] came to us and told Aiko her story. About Edolas, how the Exceed race had fallen to Earthland, and how her egg had dropped somewhere, waiting for someone to care for it to hatch. She found her parents, and they asked if she wanted to come with them. She'd glanced and me, and quietly said no thank you. She loved meeting her biological parents, but she loved me too much to let me go. I grinned like a fool that day, but the grand room looked nothing like it used to, and did nothing to help console us.

Erza called out in the empty room. "We know you're here! Come out, but do not fight. It will be swifter and we may consider giving you mercy!"

An arrow whizzed through the air, but was swatted aside by her sword, which magically appeared in her hand. Two or three dozen scary looking men and women came out, all wearing the same mark on their arms or body parts. It was a wicked looking spiral.

"We are the Devils Spear!" a weasel-y looking man shrieked. "Get out immediately, or you will never see the light of day again!" the members all raised their weapons and shouted out.

Gray tutted. "They never learn, do they?"

Lucy frowned and crossed her arms across her chest. "Nope, I guess not."

Erza smiled. "I guess we'll have to teach them again."

"Open, Gate of the Lion, Leo!" "Ice-make; Lance!" "Requip! Soaring armour!" We all sprung into action, Lucy and Leo fighting their way into it, Gray tossing away frozen popsicle-people, and Erza slashing people aside quickly, before they even realized what happened. Akio took off, knowing she needed to fly to get somewhere safe. She flew up into the rafters, wincing when she landed. I was less concerned for her up there, so I turned back to my opponents.

I grabbed my sword, and unsheathing it, used the magical power inside it. "Axe!" The slim sword glowed for a split second, and then changed into a heavy, metal axe. I smiled, then swung it at the first man who attacked me. He was sent flying, then crashed into the ceiling.

"This—" I cried between hits—"is for ruining—our home—and destroying— everything!"

Lucy called to us over the commotion. "I'm gonna go into the next room. There's more in there!"

"Okay! Be safe!" we all shouted. Her and Leo disappeared.

We continued fighting the Guild, not knowing the worst was still to come.

* * *

**MWAHAHAHA! What author doesn't like cliffhangers? Hehehehe**


	5. Chapter 5

**Lucy's POV **

"Hy-ah!" I cried, whipping out my FleuveEtoile, grabbing onto someone's ankle, and throwing her into a group of her comrades. My spirit Leo was busy doing some work on the other side of the room.

"Come on! Is there anyone hard around here?" I demanded, taking out yet another pervert who was trying to yank off my clothes. There were no mages appearing, and all these members were all either perverts, pickpocketers, or just really annoying.

I took out another guy, this one reaching for my Gate keys. "Oh no you don't!" I yelled, and then wrapped FleuveEtoile around him. Yanking the rope, he was sent spinning off. I smirked. "You are not getting your filthy hands on my keys!" there were very few golden gate keys in the world, twelve to be exact, and each could sell on the black market for a lot of money. I had most of them, because of the shortage of celestial spirit mages here.

There were only a few members left standing. I put my attention on one of them, pulling my whip back to strike, and then there was a startled cry behind me. A man was trying to sneak behind me, but I didn't notice. He was on the ground now, groaning. I peered at him. I didn't do anything, and Leo was on the other side of the room. Then I noticed the burn marks and the smoky smell, and I stiffened. "Natsu!" I shouted. _Where is he!_ I thought angrily. He was somewhere in the room. I looked up at the rafters, and there was the stupid Salmon-head, poking his head out sheepishly. His finger was smoking. "Get down here!"

He jumped down and landed on his feet. He looked like a little kid that was sorry for being caught. "What do you think you're doing here?" I hissed. "Who gave you permission to follow me?"

Natsu scratched the back of his neck, at a loss for words. Suddenly, he went on his knees, taking my hand, not gently. "Please Lucy, please! I don't like you being mad at me, or me being mad at you! I didn't mean to insult you, but I just like to make sure that you're safe! You know, cause we're partners! That's why I don't like not going on a mission without you, so I can keep an eye out! Please Lucy, please!" he begged me.

I bit my lip, hard, and tasted blood. "Fine. Whatever." I crossed my arms across my chest and he stood up.

"Thank yo—" I kicked him hard in the crotch and doubled over, then fell onto his side.

"You are _so_ lucky I'm not telling Erza about this. You better stay out of my job from here on out, or else, you'll get ten times this much."

"I—I guess I deserve that..."

Leo finished off the last member. "Thanks Leo." I said to him kindly. The smart-looking handsome man smiled, and then noticed Natsu. He looked very mad.

"You have permission to kick him once." I told him. Natsu groaned in protest, but Leo pulled back, and then kicked him hard, his foot shining gold. Natsu flew into a wall, where it left a crater. He thudded on the ground.

"Do you think he's had enough?" I asked Leo casually, while Natsu was trying hard to stand up, and failing.

The man shook his head. "For hurting my master, and such a beautiful woman, he deserves much more than that."

I sweatdropped. "A bit perverted, but thanks for the help anyways." He disappeared into the Spirit World. "So, Natsu, what are you going to do now?" I asked him, laughing at his pathetic attempts to stand up.

"help finish up the job behind you guys, stay out of site for the next little while, endure a twenty-six hour long train-ride without the Trioa, then get back to the guild and pretend like nothing happened." He said obediently.

"Good. Now you go run along and stuff. Go ahead and finish off the rest of the guild members if you want."

Natsu smiled faintly and stood up. "Thanks Luce, for forgiving me."

I held back a laugh. "Don't call me Luce. It's Lucy, to you. I haven't forgiven you. I'm just not mean enough to give you to Erza."

He looked down. "oh." He seemed very sad.

I looked around. "Hey, where's Happy?" I was used to the little blue cat following Natsu around everywhere, piping in annoying, but cute I had to admit, comments.

"I don't know. He's probably with Wendy by now wondering where_ I_ am. I left him behind."

I shrugged. "M'okay." I went back into the first room, and suddenly, I was blinded by a brilliant light.

* * *

**Kuras POV **

I slashed through the guild members, not caring where they landed or how badly they were injured. They wrecked my home, and they would pay. I mercilessly tossed another slimy pervert into a wall using the flat of the axe.

"Ha-ha!" I cried manically. I was on a rampage, destroying anyone or anything in my way.

A few minutes later, all the guild members were defeated. I sighed, unhappy that my revenge spree was over. The axe returned into its original form.

Erza looked up and her clothes turned back to normal. "It's a pity that none of these guys were hard. No mages." Erza shrugged. "Let's tie these guys up and get them to the army, let them handle it."

I smiled. "Mm-hmm."

Suddenly, Erza and Gray stiffened and collapsed, writhing on the ground. Their hands were pulled tight to their bodies, like they were tied up. Akio fell down from the rafters, and I ran forwards to catch her in my arms. She was under the same spell. I put her down gently and grabbed my sword fast.

"So, you defeated my worthless minions, did you, Kura Iris?" a voice from above laughed.

I looked up, startled. Only Aiko alive knew my real last name.

"They said you two would end up here, one way or another." A dark-haired man, a little older than I was, wearing a navy blue shirt and black pants leaned casually on the banister of the balcony. We had a cloak on his shoulders, and unlike the other members of the Devils Spear guild, he looked healthy. His strangely coloured eyes, red, ran over me.

"Not very impressive. A girl and a cat." He scoffed. I shifted a little more.

"How do you know me?" I demanded, raising my sword, prepared to leap and dodge if this man tried to attack. He snorted.

"I don't answer to _you_. My name is Kante. [Can-tay,] I'm the leader of Devils Spear." He announced.

"Good for you. Now answer my question; how do you know me?" this man was the first I've heard of them since the Attack.

"I think—" he snapped his fingers, and the invisible binds around Gray, Aiko, and Erza squeezed tighter, making them cry out. The cries were muffled, so he probably put something around their mouths too. "—we all know who's really in charge here."

Even though the first grunts were easy to beat, this guy was a mage, and a very good one at that. I tried to see if my magic was sparking, but of course, it wasn't, and either way Erza and Gray were watching. I cursed underneath my breath. Damn it.

"Let them go and fight me fair and square!" I cried.

"Now, now, three against one isn't fair. And besides, you have a weapon. I don't."

"You have your magic."

"And you do too, so that makes us even, if you'd only throw away your sword." He narrowed his eyes, smirking. _Shoot._ _He really did know about it._ I thought, afraid. How many people knew at this point?

"You better make a move, or your friends are going to suffocate." he snapped his fingers again, then, pointing to the three bodies that were beginning to struggle. The two humans were starting to turn purple. Erza stopped struggling for a moment, and looked me directly into my eyes, trying to pass on courage. She gestured towards Kante.

I turned back to my opponent. "I don't want to hurt you, or me. You don't want to make me do this." I told him. I was scared out of my mind right now. The only way to save my friend, [and half-kinda-friends,] right now was to bring out my ultimate weapon, but it was extremely risky.

"Don't worry. I know the risks. You're not seriously considering it, are you?" Kante smirked. Aikos eyes widened and she cried out. she struggled more furiously against the bonds. Erza and Gray looked at her concerned, wondering if her bonds got tighter. I knew it wasn't, but she was protesting against what I was going to do.

I didn't answer him, instead crying out, "Heavens decision armour!" Aiko screamed, tears running down her eyes.

Suddenly, I was clad in white and grey metal lightweight armour, which covered over my breast, stomach, and just finished at my thigh. My hair was pulled back in two high ponytails, the boots reached almost to my knees, and I wore gloves. In my hand was a spinner like device that was somewhat similar to a harp, minus the strings.

"I'm telling you, Kante, you don't want me to do this." I warned him. He shrugged.

"It's a fifty-fifty chance." The edges of his mouth twitched into a smile. "I know what happens."

I bit my lip. "I call down the angels of life and death," I chanted, my hair starting to blow back by an invisible breeze, "of the sky and the earth," the floor began to shake slightly, "and of the mortal and immortal worlds," the floor stopped shaking, and all was silent.

"I demand your judgement!" Akio cried out loudly, and somehow managed to speak against the magic. It was only for a second before it came back.

"no Kura, NO! You can't, you know what'l-"

The spinner started whirring uncontrollably, and then stopped quickly. I looked at it. The side was white, and a name started to appear. "K-Kura..."

Suddenly, I was jolted back, stabbed by pain. "Nooooo!" I howled. My body was wracked with shudders, and it was all I could do to stay conscious. I had to, or else Kante would bring me to _them_. I'd do it for Master. More and more waves of pain wracked through my body, like being stabbed through with a hundred daggers. Everything was washed over with grey, everything seemed fuzzy. My body couldn't contain it, and another explosion, one after another, wracked through.

After it stopped, I breathed in as much air as I could. "Th-thank you..." I panted. It was over.

I tried to lift myself up. I still needed to help the others out. My armour had been replaced with my regular attire again, and my sword was beside me. I struggled to get up, but my muscles wouldn't obey me.

Aiko, Erza, and Grays movements were getting slower and slower. They were running out of air, but my partner was trying desperately to scoot her way over to my body. I pushed on my elbows, and managed to prop myself up. I looked up, surprised that Kante was next to me, only standing. I spat on his shoe, because that was the only thing I could do at that moment.

He wiped it on my shoulder. "Pathetic. They said you would be difficult to capture, but I didn't even have to do anything. She beat herself up."

I swore at him, but Kante only chuckled. "Still got some spice in you, don't 'cha?" he asked, then kicked me painfully. I cried out, landing on the ground with a thud. I felt invisible ropes wound around my torso, but I fought against them.

_"Kura, remember the first rule of getting out of ropes. When the person ties them on you, keep your muscles clenched, it makes you a tiny bit wider, so you can slip out later when they're loose, when the person isn't there." Master said to me. _

I struggled against the snaky ropes. That information wouldn't help, they're magical binds.

_"All magic was can be cancelled out" Ren told me in the library. "No magic is impossible to undo. Some are easy, like getting rid of the caster, but some are much harder, like obtaining a certain object and using that to contradict the other magic." _

Not gonna help either! The ropes completed winding around my body, leaving me immobile. I hated the feeling of being unable to use my arms and legs. "Let me go!" I hissed, and then a gagged was shoved into my mouth.

"Shut up." he kicked me again.

Suddenly, immense terror flooded me. What was going to happen now? Kante was going to take me to them, and they'll use my power—for what? I didn't know, but I never wanted to find out. If they were evil enough to kill Master, they were up to horrible things. They were probably out to kill me. I struggled against the bonds. Erza and Gray were going to die right in front of my eyes, and—

Lucy! She was in the next room! I tried calling out to her, but the gag didn't let me. I had to send a message to her without letting Kante know.

There was a squeeze from the ropes. I cried out into the gag. "What's up with you? You look terrified and then all of a sudden you look like you're up to something." He gave me another kick. "They'll be here in two hours anyway, ready to pick you up, so just sit back and relax. Nobodies gonna save you at this point."

Another swamp of panic. They were coming. They were coming! I wouldn't go with them, no matter what. No, I would fight with everything I had, I wouldn't let them to—

I let out a piercing scream, and everything turned white.


	6. Chapter 6

**Last time**

_There was a squeeze from the ropes. I cried out into the gag. "What's up with you? You look terrified and then all of a sudden you look like you're up to something." He gave me another kick. "They'll be here in two hours anyway, ready to pick you up, so just sit back and relax. Nobodies gonna save you at this point."_

_Another swamp of panic. They were coming. They were coming! I wouldn't go with them, no matter what. No, I would fight with everything I had, I wouldn't let them to—_

_I let out a piercing scream, and everything turned white._

* * *

**Natsus POV**

I watched Lucy open the door, slightly sad that she brushed me off like that, when her figure was surrounded by a dark light.

"Lucy!" I cried, reaching for her. I was swallowed up too.

I felt the immense magic power flood through me, and at first it was painful, then it turned its back on me. The light disappeared, as quickly as it had come.

Lucy was standing in front of me, gasping for air. "Wh-what was that?" she asked, breathless.

"I—I don't know." we turned back to our friends, who were lying on the ground.

"Erza, Kura, Aiko, Popsicle Princess!" I cried, and then kneeled in front of them. I inspected Gray, Erzas, and the little purple Exceed bodies. They were just barely conscious, and they both stared groggily at me. "Natsu?" Erza blinked. "What are you doing here? Where's Kante?"

Aiko, just when she realized that she was able to move, flew towards unconscious Kura. the flight was uneven, and I noticed the bandages wrapped around one wing were speckled red, already starting to unravel. Aiko suddenly did a drop, and I caught her before she hit the floor. She ignored me though, running towards Kura and Lucy, climbing onto the sword-users chest. she was hugging her and crying, saying her name over and over.

"Who's Kante?" Lucy asked.

"Don't worry about that right now, what happened to you three?" there were long marks dug into Erzas and Grays skin. The skin wasn't broken, but an imprint was pressed inside.

"Natsu? I need help over here." Lucy was checking Kura. I scrambled to the two girls and cat.

"I'm no good with this. Kura's unconscious and extremely low on magic. I don't know what to do." Lucy looked sadly at the unconscious purple-haired girl.

"Aiko, I don't know what happened, but I need you to move so I can check up on Kura." I said softly. The little purple Exceed looked in no way ready to move, already checking Kura herself, and she hugged Kuras face, glaring at me.

"This is all your fault!" she cried. "we thought we would go to FairyTail to help protect ourselves! Kura only ended up saving you wimps and risking her life for you! FairyTail mages aren't strong!" she gripped the sword-users shirt tighter.

"Aiko, I need to—"

"no! Never!" she wouldn't move.

Lucy understood my look and grabbed Aiko by the body, ignoring the scratches the little cat gave her. Lucy handed her to Erza, who held her so she couldn't fight back. "look," I told her calmly. "I'm only checking up on her." I let her see in perfect view what I was doing. Aiko hardly relaxed.

I took Kuras pulse, and checked her body for any injuries. Other than a few bruises starting to appear, she seemed to fine fairly okay. Once I was finished, Erza let the Exceed go.

"I think she just needs to recuperate her magic. She'll come back around." I told Aiko. "She'll be fine."

"okay." The blonde turned to look at the knight and ice-make mage, who were just coming back around. "What happened?" she asked them, rather an asking Aiko, who was crying over Kuras body, even though I said she'd be fine.

"The leader of this dark guild attacked us and spoke with Kura." Gray started. "We were tied up, but he let Kura go. She transformed into armour called..." he scratched the back of his head and looked at Erza.

"Heavens decision. I've never heard of it before. Anyway, Kura used it, but I guess that the armour can also hurt the user, because it attacked her. Then Kante disappeared in a flash of light... The details are fuzzy from there, because we were suffocating on the sidelines."

Aiko spoke, hiccupping occasionally. "heaven decision armor. It's the only armour she can use, but nobody else can. It gives a fifty-fifty chance of attacking the user, or attacking all the enemies that she targets. You were in danger, and she risked her life for you, using it. Instead of hitting Kante, like she wanted to, the spinner landed on her, causing severe damage. There are no injuries on the skin when she uses it, because it directly hurts the nerves. She risked _her_ life for _yours_." Aiko stopped talking.

I nodded. "So Kuras magic is like yours, isn't it?"

Erza shook her head. "The magic from her sword is different from mine entirely. Her sword literally changes shape and size, while my weapons are stored in another space. And besides, it's not even her magic." She added.

"So then what magic does she use?" Lucy beat me to the question.

"The magic used to change the form of her sword is already pre-stored in her it, she, and only she, can access it. It is an ordinary sword without it. But, the light that we just experienced is her magic. I think the reason she's unconscious right now is because she tried to contain the highly destructive magic before it destroyed us. Luckily, she succeeded, but she lost consciousness in the process. I don't know how she got her hands on such a powerful magic."

"We'll have to wait until she's awake then." Lucy said. I huffed. I hated waiting! It was so boring waiting for things to happen.

Luckily for me, we only had to wait a few minutes. Kura bolted upright, and then winced when she moved too fast. Erza scooted by her side. "How are you feeling Kura?"

Aiko glared at her. "shut up. you have no right to talk to my friend."

Kura looked at Erza franticly, and for a second, I didn't think the girl even recognized The Knight. Kuras pupils were tiny, she was breathing hard and she scrambled back from her before realizing it. "Er-Erza?" She grabbed onto the Scarlet's shoulders. "We have to leave now. I'll explain to you as we go, but _they_'re coming for us."

Erza noted the frantic tone of voice and stood up quickly. "Get up! We're leaving." She barked. "Natsu, you're not supposed to be here, but you're coming with us anyway."

"A—aye."I was cowering in fear of the scarlet mage. Again. I mentally whacked myself on the head. _Stop being so scared of Erza! She may be scary sometimes, but stop being such a pillow around her! _I stood up and followed the group outside. Just before we exited the building, Aiko whispered something in Kuras ear and they went back inside. She ran up to the display, slightly old and cracked and dusty, and unscrewed one of the cat heads. The line was so faint you couldn't even tell that there was a tiny hole in there. She reached inside and grabbed a piece of old, faded paper. She put it in her pocket, then ran up to us.

"Just wanted to get something." She told us.

We started running back to the town. "Why are these people trying to hurt you Kura? Those men I beat up back in the town were part of that guild too." I asked.

She bit her lip, almost looking ready to cry. [Oh no, I thought, I made two girls cry in two days?] Erza had to help her stand and run, [Erza was carrying her wagon with her other hand,] because of her lack of energy. I knew it wasn't safe to let her overexert herself like this, but whatever it was that she was afraid of, it was probably worse.

Aiko and Kura had a silent argument. Aiko looked quite angry, but Kura looked pleading.

Aiko glared at me. "we can't answer all of your questions, but we can tell you the basics." She began. "we was raised here, at the Church, with a bunch of other people. They were our only friends and family. Kura was found on the doorstep when she was a toddler, having nothing but the clothes she was wearing, and a tiny card saying her name, age, and birthday. Nothing else. I was found as an egg by Kura." There was an angry tone of voice from Aiko, coating the words spiteful. Kura patted her head, trying to calm her down, then continued so we didn't get whiplash from the Exceeds words. The little purple cat was bristling.

"we were raised with the people of the Church. we lived a good life, with Master and Ren and all the others. Master learned about my power when I was younger, and trained me to control it a tiny bit better. He also taught me with my sword and other weapons."

Erza piped in. "but they're not your real magic."

Kura sighed. "No. My magic is strange. It turns on and off, and sometimes I have to struggle to control it when on. I try and put most of my magic into my sword, where it can be kept properly under control, and I use the actual sword whenever I can't use my magic.

"I never use my magic anyway though, because if I do, it all comes out. Gray was wondering why everything around here was so cold and dead. It was because about a year ago, there was an attack on the Church. They were all mages of varying strength, but Master ran away with just us, leaving my friends behind. Unfortunately, he had a wound on his body, and he died in front of our eyes. Two men chasing us finally caught up, and I was so angry—

'I didn't even know what happened. There was a flash of light, and then I woke up in the middle of a crater. There was no trace of anything living, except Aiko beside me. The Church was still standing, with rubble all around and all portions of the roof collapsed, but it wasn't the problem. The thing was, despite all the fighting, there were no bodies. Nothing. It was like all the inhabitants and the fight never even existed. Everything living in a three kilometre distance was dead or destroyed, minus us. We knew that Master was right. If they killed people for me, they were going to send more, so Aiko and I headed west. I'd heard of the great FairyTail guild, so we headed there, and surrounded myself in powerful mages that could protect us. I'm sorry for using you guys." She ducked her head.

"well, you don't need to apologize," Aiko spat. "they were no use anyways." Kura patted her head.

Gray frowned. "But, no offense, what makes you so important?"

"I don't know. Everyone but me seems to know. Even the dragons."

I whipped my head around and stared at her. "Dragons?" I demanded.

"There was one time... when Aiko and I were training, not too far from the church, but far enough that if I shouted, I probably wouldn't be heard. We were practicing my training in a cave that only me, Aiko, and Master knew about, when there was an earthquake. We ran outside, and we just made it as the cave collapsed. I was sad, because it was our special place, but I was more worried about the three large dragons in front of me."

"Which ones? Was one Igneel?" if it was, then at least I knew he was still alive, right? I could still find him!

Kura nodded. "The great fire dragon, Igneel, the mighty sky dragon, Grandine, and the epic metal dragon, Metalicana. They all stepped forwards, and spoke with me. They told me that my worlds and theirs were connected."

Lucy frowned. "Worlds? Like, plural?"

Kura nodded. "Metalicana gave me my sword, saying my mother wanted me to have it. Grandine gave me the blessing of a dragon, supposedly to give me good luck and fortune. And Igneel gave me this;"she held up a tiny red trinket. It was a spinner, with two sides. The actual holdy-thingie was red with green symbols. The two sides were painted black, and the other white. The spinner whirred for a moment, the black side turned up.

Aiko swatted it out of her hands and grabbed it. "Kura!" she hissed quietly. "you're telling them too much!"

But Kura continued. "Whatever side faces the heavens means I can or cannot use the magic. Black means I can, so at the moment, I can actually use it. Not that I'd want to kill you all, and anyway the spinner had never really been useful. I can see for myself if I can use magic or not by creating a spark and testing it."

"The mighty Igneel would never give something useless. It has to have some sorta bigger use." I protested against her logic. Even my scarf saved me from dark magic before, when before I just thought it was a scarf. I took it from her hands and she made a small noise of protest. The little spinner started spinning uncontrollably. It whirred so fast you couldn't see the details, until it stopped.

It was now three-sided instead of two. One side was painted red with a dragon painted on it. The black side had a staff, and the white side had a sword.

Erza snatched the thing away from me. "Natsu! You ask before you take things! Have to ever heard of manners?" she demanded, and gave the trinket back to Kura, and whacked me on the head with the back of her hand.

"It changed shape with Natsu took it." Kura blinked and showed it to Aiko, then the rest of us. "The writing on the side is the same, but now the spinner had three sides."

Erza inspected it closely. "Kura, could I try holding it? Maybe it changes when another magic user holds it." Kura carefully handed it to her.

The spinner did nothing, so the Scarlet Knight gave it to Princess Perv. "The black side is a staff, the white side has a sword, and the red side has a dragon. We know what the dragon stands for, Dragon Slayer Magic, but the two weapons..."

It didn't spin for Gray either, so Aiko snatched it away from him angrily and gave it back to Kura, muttering rude comments under her breath. I guffawed in Popsicle Princesses face. "Haha Gray, the spinner didn't do anything when you hold it!"

Ice face glared at me. "It probably isn't working! You probably broke it, Ash-for-brains!"

"Broke it? How could you expect that from me, Princess Perv?"

"Oh, maybe it's because you're the biggest Baka around!" **[Baka= stupid, idiot, moron, loser] **

"Me Baka? You're aski—"

"Shut up!" Erza roared, and whacked us on the head with a requipped mallet. We did. "Now you two stop fighting! We're in a very important situation right now. We don't have time to argue, especially over stupid little things like that!"

"Y-yes ma'am." We said in miserable chorus.

When Aiko gave back the spinner to Kura, the trinket spun, the Black side facing up. "Told you I didn't break it," I muttered to Gray, smirking.

"Shut up." he murmured back.

"I'm guessing that the black and white sides are the same, but what happens if it lands on the dragon side for me?"

"It would be so cool if you got Dragon Slayer Magic like me, wouldn't it?" I suggested. She smiled at me.

"Don't you have to be raised by a dragon to do that? I was raised by the Church."

"Oh yeah." I shrugged. "It would still be cool."

"Natsu?" she turned to me. "I just had a feeling. After, when we get somewhere safer, could you look at the writing on the sides?"

I blinked. "Uhhh... sure."

Aiko was bristling in anger, so mad that she couldn't speak. She was lying down on Kuras head, and I knew she was trying hard not to bring out her claws and accidently hurt her friend.

Lucy's mouth twitched into a smile. "Natsu can barely read. You're not gonna get far if you think he can translate ancient text. If we could find Levy, you might get a little further."

"Useless!" Aiko snarled under her breath. Kura finally had enough and gently hit her on the head. Aiko hissed at the hand, eyes slit-like.

I eyed Lucy with a raised eyebrow. That wasn't sarcasm, I could tell, and I thought it was meant to be a little insulting. I bit my lip.

"I don't know. I can try, but you're probably not gonna get that far."

She shrugged. "I'm gonna bring you to a place where you can think." Aiko seemed speechless, angry, and shell-shocked all at one time. Finally, she retaliated, scratching Kura on the cheek. The sword user cried out, then took Aiko roughly off her head, holding her in front of her body. The little cat hissed.

"you can't." Aiko tried to keep the details out, so we were left in the dark.

"we need somewhere private." Kura told her.

"but we can't show them there."

"we have no other choice." Kura said, looking down at the little Exceed. Aiko narrowed her eyes and let out her wings, flying off. After three seconds of straight flying, she angled sharply, and we rushed forwards to catch her. Aiko landed in Kuras arms, but Aiko hissed and scratched again, making the sword user yelp and drop her. The Exceed landed on her feet and stomped off.

"I don't need your help." She hissed behind her. She walked five meters or so in front of us.

* * *

We were close to the town when I smelled it. Aiko smelled it to, thinking from her body language. "What's that funny smell?" I asked. They shrugged. I was the only one who could. It was faint, but very thick. It smelled like...

"Get down!" I cried, the pushed them into some scraggly bushes. Aiko jumped into her own bush. A car passed by, more like a van, but it looked suspiciously like a prison cart. Two or three cars passed, then we waited until they were gone.

"Anyone saw who they were?" Erza asked, standing up. We all shook our heads. The windows were tinted.

"I smelled the person, but I couldn't really identify anyone." I admitted. "I only smelled the discarded magic before it passed by."

Aiko didn't speak.

"It was good that you did, at least." Kura said, "You know, before we got caught. They probably brought some powerful mages along in case I started to fight. But at the speed they're going, they find the place empty with the next twenty minutes. We should get going." We all agreed.

We reached the towns borders, and we walked through the streets, ignoring the funny looks we got from the bruises and cut-up clothes. Kura brought us to a merchants shop. I sniffed. "You were here recently Kura." I pointed out.

"Mm-hmm. I was here to look up something."

Lucy frowned. "At a merchants shop?"

Aiko scoffed at her, like the idea was stupid. "no." Kura went to the back, and we followed her. She touched the wall, and a gray Magic Circle appeared. Suddenly, the wall pushed back to show a secret passage. The old, musty smell hit my super-sensitive nose like getting hit by a stampeding dragon.

"Cool, but it smells awful!" I buried my face in my scarf. Kura was oddly silent, grabbing a torch. I eyed it and reached out my hand, but Aiko flew up and slapped it away.

"get your hands off that fire, Dragon Slayer." She hissed. Using her wings was exhausting for her, so she fell back down, landing on her feet again.

"yeah, don't eat the fire that's lighting our way." Lucy snapped, but in the first time in days, it didn't seem like a sincere bark. I grinned, and then turned whiny.

"But I'm hungry! They look so good!" I protested.

She sighed and rubbed her forehead, but I could see her smiling. "I'll get you something later if we have the chance."

I jumped up on the stair. "Yay!"

Aiko snarled that that we weren't taking the situation seriously.

We reached the bottom of the staircase, and it was a library, full of books. Ugh. I wasn't a fan of them. Libraries were filled with useless words and stories.

Kura looked behind her, eying me. "Dragon Slayer, you are not to use magic inside this space under any circumstances, or I will have to kill you. Do you understand?" she said strictly.

"And I'll help. These scrolls seem all old and are obviously of worth. If Natsu destroys one of them..." Erza didn't finish the sentence, but I understood the idea. Aiko brought out her claws, but I think I was most afraid of the little fluffy Exceed. She looked sincere enough to kill me. I shivered at the three women.

"Yes, ma'ams."

Kura put the torch up on a holder, and brought out the tiny spinner. She handed it to me. "Careful," she warned. I took it and inspected the sides, not really expecting to find anything. Aiko huffed, turning away and disappearing into the aisles. I followed her with my gaze, then turned my attention to the spinner.

"Huh?" I looked at the writing again. It seemed to shift and shimmer for a moment then it was gone. "Did you guys see that?" I asked the three, who were watching over my shoulder. They shook their heads.

It did the shimmer thing again, but then it disappeared. I "huh"-ed again, peering at it closer. Whenever I looked at it from the corner of my eye it did the same thing again.

I looked at a bookshelf, and this time I saw the characters clearly. "Someone, give me a piece of paper and something to write with." I felt the paper and Lucy's magic pen land in my hands. Nobody dared speak in case it broke my concentration. I looked at the bookshelf, and started to draw on the paper. It took a minute, but I managed to get the symbols on it correctly. It was messy, but they looked the same as on the spinner.

"What is that, flame-brain?" Gray demanded when I was done.

"I don't know! I only drew what I saw."

**S dlrow ruofe h tfor ewopeht **


	7. Chapter 7

**Lucy's POV**

"What does sid-drolrow-ruofe-hitfor-ewo-pet mean?" Kura asked Natsu. He shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Let me try." I took the spinner, and once again, it started whirring. "Hey Lucy! It's spinning for you too!" Natsu cried.

The spinner stopped, and now it had _four_ sides. My side was blue, and had an eight-pointed star on it. "That must mean Celestial Spirit Magic." Gray pointed out. Natsu looked slightly mad that Gray reached the conclusion first before him. Aiko looked out at the commotion, a scowl on her face.

"So we have yes magic, no magic, Dragon Slayer Magic, and Celestial Spirit Magic. It doesn't work for Requipping Magic or Ice-make Magic." Erza noted.

"Maybe we should see if it works for Wendy and Gajeel." I said. "Because all of our magics are rare, so maybe that's how it all works."

Kura wrinkled her nose. "Sure, maybe, but I don't think so." She disappeared behind a bookcase. "I tried doing some research on it, but came up with nothing. Nothing in Dragon History scrolls, Magic items, anything. It's a one-of-a-kind object."

Everyone thought for a moment, minus Natsu, but came up with nothing.

The pink-haired Dragon Slayer broke the silence. "So you got this thing from Igneel?" he asked her. it was Natsus dream to see the great fire dragon, and foster father, again, even after the dragon left him in the middle of nowhere with no warning.

"Natsu, I'm very sorry to tell you this, but the event happened almost five years ago. Aiko was still young." Kura said softly. "While you were in the time jump." Natsu looked shattered.

Gray, Erza, and Kura talked about how they were going to escape, but I sat down next to Natsu. I was still mad at him, but seeing the look on his face made me want to console him. "It's okay." I told him, putting a hand on his arm. He made no move to pull away.

He head was low, his spiky salmon-coloured hair obscuring his face. "I had a chance, but now he's gone." He whispered. The only time you saw Natsu in a down-in-the-dumps mood was when you spoke about his father.

Especially when he was so close to finding him.

"He's out there, somewhere, always thinking of you. I'm sure he had a reason to leave, but he'll come back." I told him, smiling tightly at my nakama. This wasn't like him.

Natsu didn't reply for a second. "I haven't seen him in 14 years. What makes you say that he'll come back?"

"He will. I'm sure of it." He looked up to me smiling. "My dad came back for me, didn't he?"

Natsu smiled slightly. "Yeah, I guess so." He rapidly blinked away his wet eyes. I was slightly shocked; it must have shaken him more than I thought. We joined the discussion the other three were having.

"At this point they could be waiting for us outside. These people know about this hiding spot, so they'll know that we could come here. There are protective spells surrounding us, but it isn't impossible to get inside. Of course, to do it, you would have to rip the whole part of the store above us to get in, but they killed my friends before. They are certainly not above destroying buildings to get me."

"Happy or Charle isn't here, and Aikos wing is damaged, or we could fly you out, and the train is too public." Erza said. "People would get hurt. Is there any way to get out of this basement without using the hidden staircase?"

Kura shook her head. "Unless we dug out, which would take too long."

I shook my head and smiled. "What about Virgo? She can dig superfast."

It sounded like a great idea, but Aiko walked into the conversation, glaring at me. "She's not talking about the ground itself. The wards around here are powerful. Even your Celestial Spirit would have a hard time against them."

"Oh." I pouted. Natsu patted my back and grinned.

"It wasn't a bad idea, Luce. We just need to find something else."

"What about Gemini? They could copy Kura, and then let 'Kura' go out. We let them take Gemini and we sneak away, then they realize that Gemini isn't Kura. Gemini will then return to the Spirit World." I suggested.

Erza frowned. "But if Gemini copied Kura right now, her magic would transfer to them then, wouldn't it? If Gemini couldn't contain it, it could kill all the people here."

"And either way, keeping a Gate open for so long and so far couldn't be good for you." Natsu said. I inwardly winced. The whole argument before started along those lines.

I put my hands up. "Okay, so not a good idea. Should we just barge out and make a run for it?"

No one had any objections to that, of course.

Kura swept Aiko up, and the little cat snarled. Kura tapped her on the nose, surprising her enough to stop her hissing. "You can't fly. I'm carrying you." Aiko narrowed her eyes, but settled in the sword-users arm, clearly disliking it.

Natsu grinned. "I'll go first."

Natsu headed up the stairs, us following behind him. "Kura," he said, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Open the door in...Three...! Two..!

The door slid open, and Natsu let out a jet of fire. Over the roar of the flames, I heard startled screams. "Run!" Erza commanded, and we leapt over the fire. The door slid closed behind us, and we ran to the train station.

"There's no other choice!" Erza cried. "We'll defend the train until we lose them!"

Natsu fist-pumped and shouted, unfazed by the chasers. "We're makin' a getaway!" he spun around. "Fire Dragons Roar!" another spew of fire came out of his mouth and enveloped the mages. They stopped their attacks for a moment and desperately patted the flames out or dropped to the ground, rolling.

"Dark Shadows!" somebody's high-pitched voice cried. A wall of thick shadows blocked our way, but Erza cut right through them. We continued running.

Dozens of spears and guns were trained on us, but luckily, no one got hurt, until—

"Ah!" Natsu cried, but didn't stop running. I looked over at him. He was clutching his arm, and a tiny bit of red covered his fingers.

"Natsu! Are you okay?"

He nodded, biting his lip. "Mm-hmm. Just a tiny scratch." By the looks of the blood on his fingers, it was much more than a tiny scratch, but I would see to it later.

Gray turned around, and made an icy wall between the mages and us. They pounded against the glass and started melting it. "That's not gonna hold them for long."

We burst into the train station. Erza took the conductor by the front of his shirt and growled at him. "We need this train. It is a matter of life and death. Do not let anyone else on this vehicle." The conductor nodded quickly, almost whimpering at the scary mages. [a.k.a. us.] He grabbed his microphone.

"Anyone on the train for Magnolia, do not get on. We are sorry, but we will get another train to escort you." There were a bunch of angry cries from behind, but the man looked more afraid of us. "Get on." He unclipped the front of the train from the carts, and we hopped on, Natsu reluctantly. As soon as it started moving, he collapsed on the floor. The wound on his shoulder was still bleeding, and by the looks of it, it was slightly deep. A gunshot wound.

"Erza, you look at Natsu, and Gray and I will handle the mages in the back." I told her. She was already looking at the injury.

"Open, Gate of the Centaur, Sagittarius!" the scrawny horse-costumed man appeared.

"Moshi moshi." He said. "What can I do in your service, commander?" He saluted.

"Shoot down those mages!" I cried. They were behind us, driving in their car. A dozen heads and arms popped out from the window, preparing for a spell.

"I will do as you command, moshi moshi." The horse-man took out his bow and notched an arrow. Gray beside me pulled back his hands, the temperature suddenly dropping.

The arrow flew, and Gray cried, "Ice-make; Lance!" The arrow punched through their tire, stopping the car, and the ice-make spears hit the mages in the face. They waved their angry fists at us as we made our getaway.

I high-fived Gray. "Great job!" I turned to Sagittarius. "Thank you for your assistance, Sagittarius."

He saluted again. "In any way I can be of assistance, moshi moshi." He disappeared back into the Spirit World, but not before giving Kura a funny look.

Kura collapsed on the bench. "That was close." I did too, but then remembered Natsu, I kneeled next to him and Erza. "Will he be okay?" I asked.

Erza looked up at me. "Oh, this? Natsus suffered much worse, you know that. It's just the motion sickness at the moment."

I smiled at my friends. "I know, just I worry for him sometimes."

The conductor a-hemmed awkwardly. "Ummm... I just stole a train from the station and I'm probably going to get fired for this. What is this all about?" he asked.

"There are these people chasing us, and we needed a getaway car." Erza said simply, not giving him details. The conductor turned back around, sighing angrily.

"We have a first aid kit in the compartment for your friend over there." He said.

"No need." Erza went into the back, and came back with a fully equipped first aid kit, and our bags.

"Where'd you get these?" I asked, raising my eyebrow, but glad that I still had my stuff.

"On the roof." The knight said simply. Kura, Gray, and I poked our heads out. Strapped to the roof was Erzas wagon. We sweatdropped. When did she have time to do that?

Natsu groaned, and I turned to look at him, smiling at his motion sickness. He's brought down towers, destroyed monsters from nightmares, but if you put him on a moving vehicle, the Salamander disappeared, leaving only a ghost. "H-help..." he whined.

"If only Wendy were here," I commented, "she'd be able to do the Trioa on him."

Erza looked at the conductor. "We'll only do stops for bathroom breaks, nothing else. We need to get to Magnolia fast."

The conductor nodded quickly. "Y-yes ma'am."

Erza smiled at when up and took the Conductors shoulder. The conductor stiffened. "Thank you..." she looked at his nametag. "Jonathan, for your aid." With that, she smashed his head against her breastplate and patted his back. The conductor squealed in pain.

I sat down next to Natsu, muttering about my "totally obnoxious crazy nakamas." I smiled at Natsus blown up cheeks, him trying not to barf. Luckily, he hadn't eaten anything before [that I knew about,] so he had nothing to upchuck. Either way, he couldn't get up to move.

I chuckled, putting a hand on his back and rubbing gently. My mother used to do it when I was sick, before she died. I always felt better afterwards. Natsu seemed to relax a bit, the greenish tinge fading slightly. "Th-thanks..." he muttered.

"Hey, Lucy. Stop cuddling with your boyfriend!" Gray interrupted.

I stood up quickly. "He's not my boyfriend!" I cried.

The dark haired mage shrugged. "You're probably right. Flame brain couldn't get a girlfriend anyway."

Natsu struggled upright. "I totally could, if I wan-!" he collapsed. The conductor sighed.

"Is he usually like this?" he asked. We nodded.

Kura stretched, yawning. "One of us should stay up, just in case they catch up with us." It was only the evening, but all the running and stress of the day was making us tired. Aiko was in the corner, refusing to talk with Kura or any of us.

"I'll stay up first." Gray offered. "Jonathan, show me how to work the train so you can go to sleep too."

"No, I haven't done as much as you guys. You go to sleep, and I'll wake you up later. I'll keep watch."

Kura looked reluctant to put her trust in a complete stranger, but she pulled a blanket from her small bag and snuggled in it. She caught my surprised look and grinned slightly. "It's a magic bag. Master gave it to me. It can hold a great deal of items." She took off her vest, and went underneath the cover. There was the sound of skin rubbing against cloth, and then her head poked out. She was wearing a light purple, long sleeved shirt and baggy navy blue pants. Her hair was down. She threw a pyjama next to Aiko, who still didn't move.

"Wear something easy just in case we have to make a break for it." She said, and then snuggled in the blankets. Her voice came out muffled. "There's one more in the bag, if you want it."

It took me a second to realize she meant another blanket. I carefully reached into the bag and pulled it out. Kura was right; the bag did seem much larger than it should have.

I bellowed out the blanket and, as a second thought, put it over Natsu too. It was a cold night, and it was chilly. I heard Gray chuckle, seeing us both, so I took my shoe off without opening my eyes and threw my combat boot at his face. The heavy CLUNK and groan told me it hit. I smiled, snuggling closer to my personal heat-pad.

* * *

Erza shook my shoulder. "Lucy... Lucy... Lucy. Wake up."

On the third shake, I got up. "My turn?" I rubbed my eyes. She nodded, in her Japanese cloth armor, so not to wake us up with the clanking of metal, and to be prepared if there was an attack.

"okay." I got up, careful not to wake up Natsu who finally managed to fall asleep. I didn't bother changing last night, so I was still in my regular blue-and-white outfit with yellow outline. I changed quickly and quietly, not wanting to wake up the others, and checking the back for any speck on the horizon. Fortunately, we were in the middle of a desert, so it was easy to be lookout.

I leaned on the banister outside, listening to Erza getting comfy and eventually falling asleep. The train tracks whizzed by again and again and the train was still going. Since we didn't know how to operate it, Jonathan put extra power in it that would keep it going on while he slept and we kept watch. 'It should keep going until the crack of dawn, and then you can wake me up,' the conductor said.

Somebody rolled over inside, and then there was a shaky shuffling noise. I looked as Natsu burst through the door and leaned over the edge of the banister. He took big, deep breaths. "Please... get me off of this thing..." he muttered without looking at me.

I gently pulled him back, in case he went unconscious again and actually did fall off the train, and sat him down on the bench. Natsus head lolled back and he panted. I sat down next to him and rubbed his back. He sighed, not totally fine, but better.

"So... what's up?" he asked me slowly.

"I just started lookout duty." I said, moving my hand between his shoulder blades. [His vest was still on, for you perverted people!]

"Want me to help?" he asked.

"No, you should save your energy." I leaned back, closing my eyes for a second. Without opening them, I said, "How's your arm?"

He looked at it and winced. "I wouldn't really admit this to anyone else except Happy, but it kinda still hurts. Luckily it didn't break through anything important," he continued, not noticing that my face was burning.

I looked back at the train tracks. Still nothing. "So far, nothing has happened, luckily for us." I reported.

He chuckled lightly, but then his face turned green again. "I'm so hungry, but I can't eat anything. Just the thought of food makes my stomach rumble and turn at the same time."

I stood up and checked the sky in the front. It was turning lighter. "It's nearly morning. Only another couple hours, then we'll stop when everybody gets up for bathroom breaks." I told him.

Something caught my eye. It was something shiny from the front.

My eyes widened. "Stop the train!" I cried. Everybody, lightly sleeping, woke up inside. I burst into the room. "Stop the train!"

* * *

**Kuras POV**

Gray got up first and pulled the emergency brake. Everything was sent flying to the front, and everybody cried out as they were thrown cross the room. Finally, the train stopped completely. We were pushed up into a pile, a tangle of limbs and blankets. Erza pulled herself free. "Everyone okay?" she asked.

We got out fine. I looked at Lucy. "What's wrong?"

She didn't get time to answer the question. Natsu poked his head in, perfectly fine now that the train had stopped. "What was that for? Well, I don't care, cause the train sto-!" he was thrown somewhere else by a blast.

"Natsu!" she cried. Lucy grabbed her keys. "Open, Gate of the Ram, Aries!" a fluffily-clad girl appeared. She had pink hair and little curly horns.

"I-I'm sorry. What can I do for you?" she asked shyly.

Outside, I could hear the sounds of Natsu roaring. We all ran out the door.

"Natsu!" he was battling with six or seven mages, and unfortunately was beginning to lose. His fists caught fire, as he jumped back to dodge a ray of red light. He charged forwards, but he was stopped again by another mages attack. He stood there, stunned for a split second, then a group of shadows, Shadow Magic, leapt up from the ground and grabbed him. He cried out, swamped over by the darkness. even more mages came, from seven or eight vans that had finally slowed don and parked.

Erza charged into battle, requipping into her Black Wing armor. She let them spread out and she jumped, landing on top of a mage and making him tumble down. Gray made a small iceberg appear above another's feet; he cried out as it hit him. It wasn't nearly as big as his usual because even though it was chilly, it was a desert.

I unsheathed my sword. "Electricity blade!" It glowed for a moment before turning into a thicker, heavier blade. It was coated in a thin layer of yellow-y shiny stuff, and crackled with power. I jumped into the fight, landing close to a mage, and the older woman jumped. I took the blade and swung; as soon as it touched the mage, she dropped to the floor. The blade was charged with electricity. Aiko and Jonathan stayed in the cart, the little cat trying to reassure the conductor before he fainted.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Lucy running towards the bundle of shadows that were trying to suffocate Natsu. I could see flashes of sparks here and there from the Dragon Slayer struggling to get out. Aries followed behind Lucy, blocking any attack that was aimed for her.

"Wool bomb!" a ball of fluffy wool appeared in the Spirits hands, and shot towards a mage. The enemy went down, but now there were more than six or seven; several dozen surrounded us, and we were losing ground.

The sky was filled with cries. "Ice-make; Lance!" "Requip, Heavens Wheel armor!" "Open, Gate of the Bull and Lion! Taurus and Leo!" and eventually, spurts of flame here and there. It still wasn't enough.

I blocked another attack with the flat my Earth sword, and bounced it back somewhere where it would hit someone else. I didn't care who, I just needed to get rid as many as I could. Gray had fallen; his ice magic not suitable for these conditions. Lucy and Erza were getting tired from opening and closing gates and changing armor so much. Natsu and I were getting swallowed up by sheer numbers. As soon as one fell, two fully energized mages came back.

I dodged another beam of magic sent at me, but it singed the end of my sleeve. At this point, I knew unless the numbers would stop, we would be overrun. For once, I was ready to use my magic.

My hand shot out, and I cried, "Ending Magic; Dark Roar!" a beam of dark light shot from my fingertips and four mages disappeared. It was a struggle to close the gate to my magic again. I could easily destroy each enemy right now on my own, but not when the others were close.

"Stop!" an unfamiliar voice commanded. Suddenly, the attacks ceased from the enemy mages. Erza, Lucy, Natsu and I regrouped in a circle, an unconscious Gray in the middle at our feet. We held our weapons/flaming fists/keys dangerously in front of us.

Standing on top of the train was a middle-aged man, holding Jonathan in front of him. The conductor looked terrified, because of the dagger held at his throat. Aiko was held by another sinister mage behind him.

Erza snarled. "You wouldn't dare!" we already got the point. Give us the girl, and you save the life of this innocent man and cat.

The man, face hooded with a red cloak, smiled. He didn't speak. He pressed the blade closer to Jonathan's throat. The conductor swallowed.

"You have no honor!" I cried. "If you want me, then get me yourself!"

The man pushed Jonathan a little closer to the edge of the train.

This poor man. "F-fine. I'll go with you. Just let Aiko and the conductor go." I said slowly. I was scared, no, terrified, but I wouldn't let this man kill innocent people.

Two mages stepped forwards and put something around my wrists. Magical handcuffs. They were powerful ones, because even my magic was suppressed by them. Instantly I started to feel sick. I knew what was happening. Aiko and I had tried it once.

"I-I'm not... feeling so good." I stumbled a bit. Akio gasped.

"her magic is being suppressed! Don't, stop!" My vision turned blurry, and I felt as if my lungs were filling with water. I dropped to the ground.

The handcuffs shattered, but no one made a move to pick me up. Slowly, I realized that I could hear the sound of battling outside my consciousness. They must be fighting for me, I thought.

I fought off the blackness threatening to consume me, but it was getting harder and harder. I felt for my sword; I needed to get the access magic out without blowing something up, or I was going to do it when everything went black.

Finally, the leather handle ended up in my hands. I concentrated as much as I could, and slowly, I could breathe again. Of course, the effort was too much and I ended up unconscious.

* * *

I woke up on the bench in the train, my blanket wrapped around me. I sat up quickly. Too quickly, because my sides started to burn. "You're awake!" Aiko cried and jumped up into my lap. Gray was sitting on a fold-up chair away from us, but still close by. His chest and head were partly bandaged, but the mage seemed fine.

"Are we safe?" I asked.

He nodded. "We only got away because Erza went into scary-mode. She brought out her Purgatory Armor and then everything finished up quickly. Red-cloak dude disappeared. Or that's what they told me." Gray added. He knew I only wanted the details.

"What about Jonathan?" I asked. "Is he okay?"

"He's in the back right now with the others. He's a bit shaken, but physically fine." Aiko told me. I sighed a sigh of relief.

"what about you?" I asked her. her wing had been rebandaged, but she seemed fine, other than that. "I'm fine," she waved off me inspecting her wing, pulling it away from me. "I'm a lot better than you are. You should be worrying about yourself." The previous anger faded away mostly, I guessed because the Fairies fought, and Aiko was only worried about me. I petted her head and the little Exceed purred.

I noticed Lucy on the other bench. "Is Lucy okay?"

Gray didn't speak for a moment. "She's weak from blood and magic loss, but she'll recuperate."

I smiled sadly. It was all my fault that I dragged them into this. "That's good."

"We'll be at Magnolia in less than an hour, so I'm gonna go outside and let you change." He opened the door, and then closed it, giving me one last look before disappearing. Aiko stayed, and I didn't mind. She was my partner, and we've seen each other without clothes loads of times. I reached into my bag and grabbed my traditional wear. My black dress slipped on, when the door opened again. I shrieked. Luckily, the dress was on, but nothing else was.

It was Natsu, looking tired and green. He sat next to Lucy, not noticing us. Aiko seemed shell-shocked into silence.

"I hope you're okay." He said to her, even though she was unconscious. He put his hand on hers and gripped it tightly. "I kinda wish I was there for you more. So you didn't get hurt. I followed you guys in the first place to make sure that you didn't get hurt. But you still did..."

He grinned. "But you'll get better Luce! And I know you're still a bit mad at me, but I don't really care. You're my nakama! We'll meet up with Happy later and maybe go on a mission!"

I awkwardly moved my hand on purpose, knowing that with his Dragon Hearing he would hear it. He turned around, seeing us there.

"Ah..." he turned the same color as Erzas hair. "Hi K-Kura! Aiko!"

"You don't have to pretend. We heard the whole thing."

If it was possible, his face turned even redder. "Y-you... heard?"

I nodded. "You really do care for that girl? Don't you?" Aiko grinned, cat-like.

He looked away. "Yeah, she's my best friend, along with Happy. We hang out a lot and stuff." My little Exceed and I exchanged glances, smiling, realizing that Natsu, as dense as he was, didn't get the feeling that he had for the Celestial Spirit mage. "Mm-hmm... you guys remind me closely of two people."

He looked up. "Who?"

"A friend and I. Just remember, once they're gone, you can't go back."

Natsu blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?" Aiko and I grinned.

"You have to find out for yourself." I leaned back against the wall and put the blanket over my head, ignoring the angry calls from outside as I changed. Reminded of Ren, I smiled sadly, hoping that their relationship continued on, and didn't end up like mine. Aiko glanced at me worrisomely.

* * *

**how's the story so far? any comments, reviews, and [constructive] critism is welcomed! I really wanna know how my story is so far. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Natsus POV**

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded. The motion sickness was getting to me, but I fought it away. Nothing irritated me more that people being indirect. It stuck to my brain, then I would have to _think_ about it, then I would get a headache. Too much thinking.

Kura and Aiko smiled faintly at me, and then disappeared under her blanket. I heard the faint ZIP noise of cloth against skin, she was changing, but I still protested.

"Come 'on Kura! Aiko! Tell me!" I cried.

"Plea—" Suddenly, the train tracks bumped, and the motion sickness came back. "I think I'm gonna-!" I ran outside, pushing past Erza, Gray, and the conductor guy, and threw up over the side. They wrinkled their noses, looking at the trail of icky stuff.

Gray snickered. "You should really learn how to hold your stomach Ash-for-brains."

I looked up at him, growling. "Ah shut up... Popsicle Princess. You need... to learn how to keep on... your clothes every time you see a girl. Like now." I smirked as Gray looked down, noticing that he was in his boxers. His clothes were discarded on the floor.

He stuttered for a moment and swiped up his clothes. "I-I'm not the perv! You were the one that went inside as Kura was changing!"

I blinked. Oh yeah. That was awkward. Luckily I didn't see anything, but still... thinking about it made my face burn. Gray went inside, holding his clothes underneath his arm. [He knocked on the door smartly and grinned at me, before he went inside, just to rub it in.]

"Anyone have a drink?" I asked the Knight and conductor, who were the only ones left. Erza sighed, and climbing the metal ladder, got a fizzy drink from her wagon, that had miraculously survived through our whole getaway. She passed the can to me.

I popped open the top and took a mouthful, keeping it in my mouth for a few seconds then spitting it out below. The taste of upchuck was gross, and even though I washed it out until the can ran out of liquid, I could still taste it.

Bleh.

The desert had started to turn into forest, and the scents were starting to become more familiar. We were getting closer to Magnolia and closer to off this stupid train. I sighed in relief. Soon.

I went back inside, trying to bear my punishment as best as I could. I wobbled next to Lucy's bench and sat down. Gray, Aiko, and Kura looked at me, and as I sat down, Lucy's hand twitched.

"Lucy!" for the moment I pushed away the sickness. I jumped up on my knees and leaned over her. "Llluuucccyyyyyyy!"

She flinched then opened her eyes. "Natsu?" she blinked, her eyes wide. "What are you doing here?" she pushed the blanket off of her and pushed her legs out. "What happened? Where's Erza? The last thing I remember is her requipping into her purgatory armor and then..." Lucy held her head. "I think I got knocked out."

Kura smiled. "Pretty much. We got away because of Titania."

The scarlet-haired Knight walked in. "now stop flattering me. If you guys didn't knock out the first dozen mages, I still couldn't have done anything."

Lucy muttered something under her breath, meant only for her, but I still heard it. "How many mages were there? Scary..." I grinned to tell her that I heard. She turned red.

"Lucy," Erza commanded. "You just woke up, but you should get into something a little less dirty and cut-up." she pointed at her shredded clothing. "We'll be in Magnolia in less than an hour. We'll go outside and let you change."

She nodded and reached into her bag. Everyone left except me. She looked at me quizzically. "Where aren't you leaving Natsu?"

"Why should I bother? I've seen you naked plenty of time at your house before." I shrugged. Sometimes I burst into her house after one of her showers.

She widened her eyes and turned red. [She'd done it a lot in the last few minutes, I noticed,] she stood up, grabbed me by the scarf, and dragged me outside, dumping me at Gray and Erzas feet.

"Just because you burst into my house at the most embarrassing moments, DOESNT MEAN YOU GET TO LOOK NOW!" she shouted, and it really hurt my Dragon Slayers ears. She slammed the door behind her.

Gray started laughing. "Did you seriously stay when she was about to get changed? And you're calling me the pervert!"

The motion sickness came back again in a wave. "Sh-shut up."

* * *

As soon as we got off the train, 1] my motion sickness went away, and 2] we noticed the big group of mages blocking our way. Finally. I got to beat up someone. I cracked my knuckles in anticipation.

"Give us the girl and the cat." The first one cried, "And we will leave peacefully. Don't, and we will attack you and your friends!"

Gray scoffed. "We're not just gonna 'give you the girl and the cat.'" He air quoted.

Lucy piped in. "because she's our friend."

Kura looked startled, and then she blushed. Erza added, "And we don't give up our friends."

I charged forwards, punching the guy in the face. I think his nose broke. "Because we are FairyTail!"

We charged into battle, but we had no time [and this wasn't the place to fight, it _was_ public,] so we cut or punched or froze our way through the mages. We ran for the large guild building at the other end of town.

I heard the whizzing behind me, and jumped over a magic-made spinning disk, leaping over it and toasting it to ashes. I spun around and let out a large spurt of fire at the attackers.

I widened my eyes as it sucked away, doing nothing but leaving smoke. A boy, a year or two younger than me, was eating it, just like I did. When he finished it off, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and grinned at my startled expression. I landed on two feet on the ground, and the black-haired Shorty [that's what I was calling him for now,] let out a big spurt of fire from his mouth, surrounding me. I didn't get burned; fire didn't hurt me, and I just ate it instead, sucking it into my mouth like a straw. The dust cleared.

He grinned again. I was far away, but his mouth moved and I could tell he said, "Dragon Slayer."

I spun around and caught up with my friends. We were faster than the mages, because we were such a tiny group, but dodging the attacks was hard.

We passed under FairyTails gates and burst through the doors.

"Everyone, prepare yourself for attack! This is an emergency situation!" Erza commanded. Everyone looked up in surprise, only just having time to register her words before the entrance to the FairyTail guild exploded.

'Hey! We just rebuilt that!" I cried.

"Figures." Lucy muttered. I turned and stared at her. Suddenly, another magic disk whirred by and I knocked Lucy out of the way.

"Watch out!" it passed us, then came back around like a boomerang and landed into a skinny tall mages hands. I send a spurt of fire in his direction, and he ran off, screaming about "bloody murder, it hurts!"

The FairyTail members all understood. "Attack!" someone cried, and we all charged forwards. The enemy mages suddenly looked doubtful now that we had a chance, but they attacked anyways. Everything was in chaos. I saw Cana, from the corner of my eye, throwing her magic cards at a mage and turning him into a duck. Mira was in her demon form, shooting orbs of darkness and making enemies disappear in a flash of light. Elfman and Lisanna were using rapid takeovers.

I saw Lucy summon as many combat spirits as she could to help out. Leo, Capricorn, Scorpio, Sagittarius, and Taurus. She whipped out her FleuveEtoile. I dodged under a blow aimed for me and kicked the guy in the gut, foot flaming. I ran towards Lucy, hoping to help her, but someone blocked my way.

"Dragon Slayer." It was Shorty. The boy had black hair and smoky gray eyes. He was wearing a plain t-shirt with a dragon ironed onto it.

"Shorty." I grinned at his stupid expression. He then understood and growled at me.

"Natsu Dragneel. I've been waiting for this for a long time." The boy grinned. "He let me have you. He said I could do whatever I wanted, as long as I got you out of the way."

"Now why would _he_ want that?" I asked, getting into a stance.

"My name is Ember. I am a second generation Fire Dragon Slayer. Fire doesn't work on me."

I shrugged. "Doesn't work on me either. That's nothing."

Ember jumped forwards, aiming for my face. I ducked under the blow and landed on my back. I lifted up my feet, so they were positioned on his chest, and then pushed. He was sent flying, hit the ceiling, and stayed there with a dazed expression on his face.

"I think you have to work a little harder." I said to him, running towards Lucy and fighting with her back-to-back. Her spirits were around her, trying desperately to protect her as best as they could while taking out enemies. Lucy was beginning to tire though; sweat beaded on her forehead and she was breathing heavily. I didn't think she could keep the Gates open for much longer without going unconscious.

She waved three keys in front of her. "Closure; Taurus, Sagittarius, and Scorpio." The named spirits disappeared. She looked at me. "Hey Natsu," Lucy said tiredly. "How's it goin'?"

"Not bad, not bad." I punched another guy in the face. "Just... you know, helping save our guild and stuff." A kick delivered into someone's stomach.

She glared at me pointedly. "I meant are you injured? Or running low on magic..?"

"Nah, I could do this all day." I said when I heard the faint "help!" over the chaos.

"Aiko!" I cried, searching for the Exceed. I knew she was probably with Kura, and I finally found them, surrounded by five or six mages. they were backed up to a wall, her sword in front of her, but one of the mages tossed it aside. She looked terrified, and his hand inched closer...

"Oh no you don't!" I cried, leaping on his back. Lucy followed me, and Leo and Capricorn took care of the other mages. We surrounded her and the Celestial-key user handed the sword back to Kura. "You were looking for this?" she smiled.

Kura took her blade. "Thanks."

Erza and Gray rushed over. "We saw you Kura, but Natsu got to you first." Gray said.

Happy, my flying cat partner that I missed so much [still wouldn't admit it,] flew over. "Natsu! You're back!" he cried.

I nodded. "Yeah, and I brought a party too!" I said, sticking out my arms dramatically. Happy sulked.

"This is your definition of a party?" he raised an eyebrow. Lucy facepalmed.

Suddenly, there was a fiery explosion that threw everyone back. I widened my eyes as it swamped over us. I tried eating as much as I could before it hurt my friends.

"NATSU DRAGNEEL!" a voice roared. "WHERE ARE YOU?" it was Shor—Ember, body aflame and looking very mad. I grinned. This was a fight I was looking forwards to. He found me standing up, perfectly fine. When he did, the flames rose higher. The mages at his feet, [on his side, no less. Cowards,] whimpered and quickly backed up.

"NATSU DRAGNEEL, YOU MADE A JOKE OUT OF ME LAST TIME! I WILL NOT GO DOWN SO EASILY!" he shouted.

"it wouldn't be fun that way, wouldn't it?" I grinned.

Embers skin started to crack on his arms and face. It molded into dragon-like scales, and his eyes seemed reptilian. He roared and flew at me. My friends backed up to let me have room.

"This is Dragon Force, the deadliest thing of this world. It is the ultimate form of the Dragon Slayers. It was the power to kill the reptilian emperors. And with it, I will defeat you!" he cried as he aimed blows at my body. I crossed my arms, wincing at the powerful hits. Suddenly, he brought his leg up and kicked me in the stomach.

I was sent flying across the room, but I landed on my feet, skidding a little. Ember followed, jumping up above me. "Flaming Fist of the Fire Dragon!" he punched, but I caught it between my two hands. He pressed down, but I held it there, straining a little.

He swung down, and I narrowly dodged the next kick. For a split second, we were back-to-back, but I flipped over him when he spun around and aimed a fiery fist at my face.

The guild and enemies watched to killer fight, too distracted to keep up the fight themselves. Lucy almost stepped forwards to try and help me, but Erza held her back.

Ember kicked again, and this time, I took his bottom leg, left undefended, and he tripped. "Ah!" he ended up on the ground. His concentration and anger was replaced by confusion, which meant that the Dragon Force faded away.

The little boy glared at me. "Finish it." He growled, underneath my foot.

"Finish what?" I was confused. What did he mean by that?

He scowled. "God, you're dense. I failed defeating you. Twice. Just kill me now."

"Why would you want me to do that?" I asked.

"Because I failed." He hissed. "My dreams are shattered. My goal was to defeat you, the mightiest of the Dragon Slayers, to prove to Him that I was good enough. Not like _her_," he found Kuras gaze and glared at her, [everyone else did too,] "who didn't have to do anything to gain his attention. She was _born_."

I leaned back, but didn't take off my foot. "Aaaaaw. Jealously issues with Daddy?"

"I'm not jealous." He snapped. "I just wanted to be noticed for once."

"And will you be noticed if you're dead?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow.

He pressed his lips together. "Not really. Father probably wouldn't care. He's so absorbed in Kura that he ignores me."

I took my foot off, but he made no move to get up. "I like that you have a goal, but for such a shallow reason like that, I don't agree." I crossed my arms across my chest. He looked up, startled.

"I mean, if you want your dad to notice you, why don't you two talk it out?"

He touched his arms lightly. "You don't know my dad. I work hard and do whatever he says, no matter the consequences of if I'm caught, but all he does is nod and look away, talking about Kura, her magical power, how it'll change—" his eye widened and he covered his mouth with his hands.

"It'll change what?" I asked.

"Damn it! I am so screwed." Ember muttered under his breath. He stood up quickly. "I-I have to go."

He turned to his 'loyal' followers. [He was obviously in charge,] "Finish it here. Get the girl." He ran off before I could grab the little bugger.

Everyone shook of the daze, and started fighting again. Suddenly, a ray of light shot my way, but I didn't have enough time to move. I raised my hands to cover my face, bracing for impact, but nothing came.

I lowered my arms. In front of me was a giant wall of pink cotton. Aries and Lucy were beside me.

"I'm sorry, is that okay?" the shy little girl cried, almost in tears.

"That's great Aries. Thanks for your help." Lucy reassured her, and the fluffily clad girl disappeared.

"We'll finish them off from here?" she asked, momentarily safe because of the wool.

I nodded. "Let's go, teammate!"

We ran outside, fists flaming and whip sparking, charging at a group of mages preparing a spell. Lucy wrapped her FleuveEtoile around ones ankle and sent the mage flying in front of me, which I knocked unconscious.

Together, we beat up a dozen or so, until every FairyTail member was looking around for another mage to defeat. There were none left.

Everyone sighed in relief and some even collapsed. Luckily, no one's life was in danger, and Wendy was running around trying to keep everybody stable until the medics came.

I kneeled next to her while she was healing Happy, who had some of his feathers burnt off from the explosion. "it hurts..." he complained to the younger Dragon Slayer.

"I know, I know." she smiled, and a soft white light came from her hands and enveloped Happy. The cat sighed in relief.

"Thank you Wendy!" he flew off, somewhat better. The girl noticed me beside her. "Hello Natsu. Are you feeling okay? I'll help heal your injuries." She put out her hands but I pushed it away.

"I don't need it." I said stubbornly. Wendy looked at my arm and gasped."Natsu, what is that?" she asked, pointing to my arm. The gunshot wound had reopened a bit.

"It's a gunshot wound. It's nothing. Use your magic on people that need it more than me."

She looked at me, frowning. "Natsu, that isn't a 'nothing injury.' It's serious, and I'm gonna use my magic on you, whether you like it or not." Her voice rose, and I looked at her startled. Wendy never raised her voice.

"Fine, whatever." I sat down grumpily as she healed my arm, smiling happily as if nothing happened. Lucy walked up behind me a chuckled.

"He's still being stubborn?" she asked Wendy. The girls ignored my protests in the background of 'I'm not stubborn!' Wendy laughed, despite all the damage around her. Kura and Aiko walked on over.

"Wendy, right?" she asked the young blue haired girl, who looked up.

The Dragon Slayer nodded "I'm Wendy." There was a question mark on the end of her sentence.

Kura took her little spinner out of her pocket. "I know it's an odd request, but it'll only take two seconds. Could you hold onto the top of this?" Wendy blinked but took the little trinket. The spinner spun around, then settled on the red dragon side, but in front of our eyes, the colour leached out, and then turned a baby blue colour. It didn't grow another side.

Kura, Aiko, Lucy and I looked at each other. So that side was only for Dragon Slayer Magic.

Akio turned shy again. "And could you heal my wing?" she showed her the injured wing, which was scabbed over but still looked fresh. Wendy took off the bandages and used her healing magic. Aiko sighed, then it was done, already looking much better. "Than—"

Suddenly, the doors crashed open. They fell off the severely damaged hinges and landed on a BOOM on the ground. "What is this!" an angry voice cried. We all turned our heads. It was Gramps.

"Master Makarov!" everyone shouted.

"What did Natsu do this time?" he demanded, waving his fist in the air. We sweatdropped and I cried out in protest.

Erza stepped forwards. "Master. I am being very serious. This is a matter we need to discuss with you."

Gramps understood the tone of voice and brought me, Kura, Akio, Lucy, Gray, and Erza upstairs. [The stairs had miraculously survived.] Happy flew in behind me.

Gramps sat down at his desk. "Now I demand to know what this is all about!" he cried.

"Master, you are very aware of Kuras magic, are you not?" Erza started, and Master nodded. "Well, these people are after it. They've been chasing us for the last day and Kura and Aiko for the last year."

Kura took off from there. "we needed a place to hide, and I am very sorry that we used you and your guild in that manner. My magic is very destructive, as you know, but we don't know why these people are after it, other than that."

"me too. I'm sorry." The little cat seemed calmer and had settled down, unlike when she was snappish at the Church.

They explained to him what had happened, from being found on the Church's doorstep, the dragons' gifts, to the Attack. After that, we piped in on the battle from the Church to here.

"But yeah. Ember attacked but I won, and he told me that his father was probably behind it all. Then he realized his mistake and left. He'll probably be back." I finished.

Master hummed. "This is a very serious matter. If these people want Kura so bad..." he blinked. "Kura, could I see that little spinner of yours?" he asked.

She handed it to him. "Interesting..."

* * *

**Yes, _interesting_**


	9. Chapter 9

**here's chapter 9! yay! I also edited the last few chapters, but only because I just found out how to add those little separator thingies... yeah... I'm new at Fanfiction, just sayin'. anyways, I was reviewing it and I noticed a little error. Kura's REAL last name is Iris. [last time Kante only said Kura _. whoops...] anyways, I fixed it, because Kura's last name has a slight significance to the story. **

**so, the Fairies are now on the run with Kura. we meet Ember, the OTHER fire Dragon Slayer, and just who is mysterious red-cloak man?**

* * *

**Kuras POV **

Master made a funny noise at the back of his throat. "What is it?" I asked him, pressing for answers.

"Could you change into that Heavens Decision armor, Kura?" Master asked. I blinked.

"o-okay." I took out my sword and used its power to change into the outfit. Master looked me over.

"Come with me!" he barked. We followed him into the back room; a giant library. He ignored the books and went straight to the back. Pressing his palm against the cement wall, a magic circle opened up a round chamber.

"Hey Kura, it's just like your hideout!" Natsu cried, proud that he made the connection. We all sweatdropped and Lucy fwapped him on the back of his head. He yelped.

The passage opened up to a small round room. The walls had shelves on then, and many old—no, ancient books were stacked there.

"These are some of the earliest stories of human history. Ancient documents that were collected and put here." He glanced at Natsu. "I swear, if you make even your pinky finger smoke, I'll kill you to make sure that you don't wreck anything. These books are extremely valuable."

"A-aye sir..." Natsu saluted, his hand shaking.

"Legends of the 50 year war." Master said, and a podium with a book on it appeared from the floor. It was tiny, meant for someone extremely short like Master Makarov, so we all had to bend down.

"Wus 'hat? Natsu asked.

"It's a book." Lucy said pointedly, staring dully at him.

"I know that! It's just—" Natsu began to smoke, his body threatening to burst into flames, but Makarov made his fist giant, pushing us aside in the small space, and squishing Natsu against the wall.

"I'm sorry!" Natsu wailed.

Master sighed and opened the book, his hand returning to normal size. Natsu looked over his head, making us all fight for some space. Happy couldn't squeeze in at all.

"This book dates back to the Dragon Civil war, when Dragon Slayer Magic appeared but the dragons themselves disappeared. This actual document was made several hundred years after it, after they found something very interesting."

"What is it Gramps?" Natsu asked eagerly. [I guessed he was interested in the book because it was dragon-related.]

Master flipped to a bookmarked page. There was my little trinket, drawn with all four sides, the exact details perfect, enlarged a bit, and my Heavens Decisions armor. "That's Kuras spinner." Aiko said, pointing to the picture.

"and her armor." Erza pointed out.

"That's not all. This little spinner and armor set was crafted by the finest mages and blacksmiths of that age, for a little baby that had uncontrollable, destructive magic. Nobody knew who the parents were, but the king, Zeref, knew that the child would destroy everything if he allowed the child to go on. He imagined the baby could be a weapon when it grew up, and instead, suppressed the child's magic with the Infinity spinner, and prepared an ultimate weapon for when it was older. Then, the Baby mysteriously disappeared from history. Dropped off the map. Nobody knew where it went. Most assumed the baby died."

"So what does that have to do with me?" I asked.

"Probably nothing. The dragons that gave you it probably just gave it to you to help suppress your magic. Maybe the baby went in hiding and had a child eventually. You could be a descendant and his-slash-her magic re-sparked. I don't know. Maybe they were feeling generous."

"The dragons knew who my parents were," I protested.

"And so? Maybe you should ask them, but it's impossible because no one knows where they went. I'm not being inconsiderate Kura, but there people are after your extremely strong magic, and we don't really have time to look up your family tree." Master looked at me pointedly.

I huffed in irritation and sadness. I was so close. Aiko looked up at me. "Don't worry about it. We'll figure it out eventually."

"Yeah, I guess."

Master put the book away. "We need to prepare for what's next. They'll be coming back and most likely soon." He led us upstairs.

The next few hours were for treating, fixing, and checking everything on the ground floor. We made sure all the injuries were wrapped up and no one was in immediate danger, then we checked that the whole building didn't collapse on us second. Many people fell unconscious and were taken to the hospital.

Soon, the soldiers arrived."Halt!" the Commander cried to his men.

Master greeted him. "Gregory. It's nice to see you again, maybe a little less under the circumstances, but nothing less, how are you?"

Gregory looked stiffly at Makarov. "I'm fine sir. We're here to—"

Master waved a hand. "Gregory, don't worry about the formalities. Kura, Aiko!" he called to us. I pretended like I wasn't eavesdropping, but stood up, looking surprised.

"This young lady and cat is who?" the tall soldier asked.

"This is Kura and Aiko, our newest members." I shook hands with Gregory.

"they'll tell you the story." Master looked at me. I blinked in surprise, and then blushed furiously. I didn't like talking much to strangers, but I told him what had happened so far. [I left out the 'unimportant details.' He didn't need to know that three dragons approached me when I was younger, for instance. we'd be brought directly to the Council and then I would be... for lack of a better word, screwed.]

Gregory nodded. "I think we will have to take these girls with us." He said. Master widened his eyes slightly.

"She created a massive crater in the eastern areas. She's dangerous. We need to keep an eye on her." Gregory put a hand on my arm, but I flinched and instinctively pulled away from years of fighting training. Aiko's claws sliced out, preparing for a fight. The soldier narrowed his eyes.

"We can't let you do that, sir." Master Makarov told him. "Kura and Aiko's under my watch, and I think one of the Ten Wizard Saints is much enough 'watch' for a puny girl and a cat. Don't you agree?"

Gregory suddenly got a tic in his eye. "But we can't let this happen anymore. You say these people are after them, more specifically Kura, and look at how much damage it cost your guild. They would be much safer with us."

"You're talking to FairyTail about damage? Gregory, you know that my guild costs me twice as much every day. Do you know how much money goes back to the client for repair funds?"

Gregory muttered a curse under his breath. "We will let you keep the girls, but we cannot let them stay in this town for now. As long as she is here, the population of Magnolia are in danger from these other mages."

Master bit his lip. He wasn't expecting this. "We'll make sure—"

"no." Gregory shook his head. "There are no buts about it. We cannot let her stay for the people's safety. It's either you give her to us, or they leave."

I opened my mouth to protest, but Makarov sent a glare in my direction. I shut up. "Fine. they will leave."

Gregory nodded. "Kura must be gone from here in the next three hours. Aiko can go with her if she'd like. If she's not gone from Magnolia by the selected time, I will bring my men and take her by force."

I swallowed as he waved to his men, and like a big marching band, they left the ruins of the guild. A pit of despair settled in my stomach as I watched them leave. Master turned to me. "We cannot say no to the army. If they took you away they would find more secrets about you that we are trying to hide. The only option is to leave Magnolia. And of course, he is right. The normal people could be hurt in the cross fire." He looked down and frowned, eyebrow furrowed in concern.

I bit back tears. "I go get my things and get out of your sight then." Aiko and I turned around and walked towards my bag, preparing for the long walks and steeling myself for the destruction and pain.

"You're not going alone."

I blinked and turned around. Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gray and Happy were all surrounding Master. It was Natsu who spoke, grinning.

"We can't just lie back and watch as our teammates are forced to leave." Lucy said.

"Who'd we be then?" Erza huffed.

"A pretty crappy guild if we just sat there like sitting ducks." Gray commented.

"We don't leave any nakama behind." Natsu said.

"Aye!" Happy piped in.

I bit my lip hard to stop myself from crying. I was definitely tearing up. I wiped my eyes with my sleeve. "You guys mean it? You're coming with us?"

"We're already a team. And besides, if these people are after you, you need some help." Lucy smiled and ran up to hug me. I felt her arms wrap around my neck. I nearly stumbled in surprise, hesitated, then hugged her back. I needed one, because all of the stress and emotions of the past year tumbled out and I started crying. I never knew how much buildup there was, but I smiled, cursing myself for wailing like a baby and hugging Lucy like she was a teddy bear.

It was good to have friends for once.

* * *

For the past year, I'd been a loner. Putting myself at a distance from other people, other than Aiko. Stepping away. Moving place to place, never speaking to anyone, remembering all my dead friends and biting back tears. I promised myself I would become as hard as steel, to train myself never to feel sadness again. What I didn't know was that in the process of doing so, I began to lose track of thing like happiness and pleasure. It wasn't worth losing hope in order to never feel sadness again, I thought as I was buried in a tangle of limbs, laughing and crying and snivelling so hard I thought I was dying.

It wasn't worth it.

* * *

We were on the train again, Natsu in a heap at my feet and everyone else sitting down on the benches.

"These people are probably watching the towns around here too, so we'd better stay under the covers until we've run enough distance. For now, if we sleep, one of us has got to stay up and keep watch." Erza said.

Everyone nodded, agreeing, and then laughed when Natsu moaned.

"Oi! Flame brain! Get up!" Gray shouted at the puddle.

We got to the next town uninterrupted. And the next. By then we were camping out in a bushy area at the side of the road, preparing our things for bed.

"I'll stay up." Lucy offered, just as Natsu said the same thing. They looked at each other.

"No, I'll stay up. I was sleeping on the train all day." The pink-haired Dragon Slayer said. Lucy brushed it aside.

"I'm not tired. And besides, you were sick half the time. That doesn't count as sleep."

"What about we just both say up?" Natsu asked. The blonde shrugged.

"Sure, whatever."

It was getting dark, so when Erza and Gray returned with the firewood, Natsu lit it on fire and we all got into our sleeping bags, minus him and Lucy, who were leaning against a thick tree.

"Good night everyone." I said, cuddling up into the cushion, along with Aiko. "And thank you so much again. we couldn't ever repay you guys."

They all smiled. "You don't have to repay us Kura." The Knight said. "I still don't see why you're still thinking that. You didn't make us come, did you?"

"I guess not, but still. It was your choice, and I'm thankful for it." I grinned.

Gray, his voice muffled from the covers, said. "Just stay thankful. That's all we need."

"Aye..." Happy added sleepily.

A few minutes later, Erza, Happy, and the ice mage were already asleep, tired from the busy day. But I couldn't fall asleep. I tried closing my eyes, but whatever I did I wouldn't fall under. Aiko was dead asleep beside me. Nearly an hour later, Lucy and Natsu started a quiet, whispered conversation.

"How's it goin'?" Natsu asked her.

"Not bad." Lucy said. The awkwardness was thick in the air, heavy enough that Natsu probably could have eaten it. I heard a scratching noise, like someone was scratching the back of their neck.

"Remember when we were arguing the day we were rebuilding the entrance?" Natsu said all of a sudden.

"Yeah?"

"And I threatened to hurt you?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Well, I wouldn't actually hurt you Luce. I was just mad. And... Well, neither of us actually apologized... I'm uh... I'm sorry."

There was another silence, and then somebody shifted. "I forgive you." It was Lucy's voice.

I knew I shouldn't have been listening to such a private conversation, but I couldn't help it. I rolled over slowing, making it look like I was asleep. Lucy and Natsu stiffened, but then relaxed. "She's still asleep." Lucy sighed.

"That's good. I don't want to wake any of them up."

"Well, yeah... and Natsu?" Lucy said. Natsu hrmed.

"it was wrong to slap you at the guild, and I'm sorry for that too."

My eyes flickered open in the slightest when I thought they weren't looking. Lucy was leaning on Natsus shoulder, and his arm was behind her neck. Slowly, Lucy started to drift off, but before she did, she said, "at least we're on good terms again Natsu... I don't like being angry with you..." she yawned, and when she was asleep, the Dragon Slayer placed her carefully on his lap, as a second thought to make her comfortable.

"Tch. Now I have to babysit Lucy too?" he said to himself, but he was smiling along with the words too.

* * *

I'd finally managed to get asleep last night, but apparently I slept in a bit. Gray had shaken me awake. "Kura... Kura. Kura!"

I opened my eyes, jumping up. Gray laughed. "There's nothing to worry about. It's breakfast time. You slept in. Bad night sleep?" he asked.

I nodded, rubbing the gunk out of my eyes. I yawned, and looked at the campfire. Happy and Natsu had caught fish, and the 'expert' was smoking them over the campfire. Somehow, he'd brought along an apron with the words "I HEART FISH," on it.

Lucy smiled. "It's not really a breakfast food, we know, but Happy's surprisingly good at cooking all sorts of fish."

I blinked then laughed. "I don't really care. When we were on the run with Aiko, we mostly ate safe leaves and berries. Every day. We never learned how to fish, and neither of us likes hunting. I had no money for food at the stores."

Happy whipped around and stared at me "No fish? Your life was hard."

Lucy facepalmed. "She's on the run from criminals who want her powerful magic, but just because she can't eat fish on an average basis her life is hard?"

"Aye." Happy nodded tightly and turned back to the food. "Natsu, turn your flames lower. You're gonna cook the fish too quickly." I giggled. Seeing the little blue cat command Natsu around was kinda funny. His tail moved back and forth, high in the air, and Natsu turned the flames to a lower degree.

"Now it's gonna be to slow cooking. It's gonna turn dry. Higher Natsu!" the dragon slayer huffed, then a big ball of fire enveloped our food. The blue cat jumped back. Within a few seconds, the fish was cooked, slightly burnt, but it looked fine.

Everyone blinked and laughed at Happy's miserable expression. "Naaaattttsu... you meanie."

We ate our fish-on-a-stick in peace, except for Happy's quiet moans about cooking it that fast made it dry, and it would have been three times better if Natsu just waited. Natsu replied to this with an, I was hungry. We laughed, talking casually to each other, ignoring the settling sense of depression around us.

Who cared? We had each other.

We finished up and started packing up our things. "We'll continue down this road until the next town, but it's more than a day's walk. We're going to be camping out again tonight." Erza said. "After that we'll take a long train ride west, towards the port side of Fiore."

Natsu moaned. "More transportation?"

Lucy laughed and elbowed him in the ribs playfully. Unlike yesterday and the day before, the tension between the two was non-existent. "Suck it up, buttercup! You, the mighty Salamander, _Natsu Dragneel_, can handle a thirty minute long train ride."

The sun was high in the sky, and we walked for awhile, stopping only for bathroom breaks, food, and rest. Natsu was talking with Lucy to my right, and Gray and Erza were on the other side. Aiko was mostly silent, flying, saying she wanted to stretch out her wing. Surprisingly, it was Happy who started a conversation with me. The blue cat flew up and perched on my head, curling up on top of my hair.

"Hey Kura. How's it going?" he purred.

I grinned, fighting the instinct of looking up to look at the voice. "Good. What about you?

"I'm fine. Do you mind if I rest on your head for a bit? I've been flying all this time." He yawned. "Natsu won't let me on his, and either way, he bounces around too much. It's very uncomfortable."

I laughed. "Sure," I reached a hand up and scratched his head.

Happy pushed his head harder against my hand, enjoying the pet. "Thanks. So, Kura, what did the dragons look like?" he asked me. I blinked.

"Why?" Aiko flew over.

"Cause Natsus technically my foster father and he was raised by Igneel. I haven't ever seen a dragon before, except for Acnologia, but he doesn't really count, and Natsu explains it badly. I can't really picture his dad that well."

**[A.N. To all the readers, I've read the manga, and I know a big spoiler for all the anime watchers out there, because I'm ahead of you guys. This story takes place after the Grand Magic Games, but I know a spoiler, so instead of breaking it out to you readers, I changed it a little bit. I'm not ****_that_**** mean.]**

"Well..." I started explaining the big red dragon to him, then moved onto the next two.

"Igneel, the mighty Fire Dragon, was big. His snout was as tall as you, times three. His head was triangular, and he had a big horn on the tip of his snout. His eyes, reptilian, glowed softly yellow. As first he looked scary; with big black claws that could rip a person to pieces, the big rough scales folding together that looked tough enough to endure Etherion. His wings were like a bats, but bigger. His chest was a tan-ish colour, and it ran all the way to his tail. The rest of him was a dark red.

"Grandine was smaller than Igneel, but still very big. Her wings were like a dove, soft and white. They looked like you could sleep in them. Her face was smoother too, covered into smaller scales that, from a distance, looked almost like one piece. They shimmered the light, white with rainbow hues.

"Metalicana—"

I stopped when I heard the gentle snoring. Aiko giggled. "He fell asleep." Happy had fallen asleep on my head. I giggled and rubbed his fur again. He purred drowsily.

I turned to Natsu and Lucy, who laughed quietly at Happy sleeping on my head. "I like your new hat Kura. Where'd you get it?" Lucy giggled.

I grinned. Natsu butted in. "so he went to sleep on your head instead?" he asked.

"What do you think Natsu, you dense idiot. If he's sleeping on her head, then the answer's obvious!"

The rude comment wasn't mean, or meant to emotionally hurt someone. It was meant for teasing, thank the lord. The team was back together after that... intimate, private moment. [That I was watching.]

Natsu grinned, but then Gray and Erza turned their attention to our conversation. "So after that little moment of yours last night made you friends again?" Gray asked, laughing. Lucy and Natsu blinked.

Erza smiled. "Yes, it's good to see you to interacting with each other the same way again." finally, it clicked for them. They both turned a shade of bright crimson.

"You two were listening!" they cried.

I put my hand up. "Me too." I said sheepishly. They turned to look at me, impossibly turning redder.

"y-you too..?" Natsu stuttered.

"And me!" Akio piped in. She was unusually loud, and I knew that the Fairies had gained her trust.

"'Now I have to babysit Lucy too?'" Gray quoted in a high mocking tone. "Do those words ring a bell?" Lucy, eyebrow raised, looked at Natsu, who was beginning to smoke from the ears in embarrassment. I remembered she was asleep at that point.

"You two make a good couple." Erza commented. At this point, smoke was coming out of Natsus ears at an alarming rate.

"WE'RE NOT A COUPLE!" they shouted, then looked at each other in surprise. They blushed furiously and looked away, the Dragon Slayer crossing his arms across his chest, and the Celestial Spirit Mage turning her nose away.

We all laughed, minus the embarrassed pair. Happy suddenly put a soft paw on my face. I went cross eyed looking at it. "Is it possible for you lot to be a little quieter? We all know that we heard their confessions last night, but it's my nap time!" he complained drowsily.

Lucy stuttered. "Happy too..?"

We all grinned in their direction, and the two put some distance between themselves and us.


	10. Chapter 10

**Lucy's POV**

We walked along the bumpy unpaved road for hours. The burning red blush I felt on my face faded away too, but not the embarrassment.

I bit my cheek hard. There was more than enough time to let my thoughts run wild in my head, since Natsu wasn't talking to me [in slight humiliation,] and the other four were chatting quietly amongst themselves. I didn't feel like talking to them, since I knew Gray would probably bring up the previous conversation.

When Natsu and Happy brought me to the FairyTail Guild, I was overjoyed, especially because it was weirder and wilder than I'd thought. I chuckled to myself when I recalled the first few minutes. Natsu had [out of the blue] punched a guy, which caused them to fight, people got mad at them because they were throwing things all over the place, Gray, Natsus frienemy, got into a fight with him because... I didn't even remember. The two suddenly got into a fight, Elfman was running around screaming "Man!" Everyone was drunk, [especially Cana,] then Mira-Jane got clocked on the head with a beer bottle. Gray asked me if he could borrow his underwear because Natsu stole it, [HELL NO!] so I kicked him in the face, then Master finally had to intervene.

Eventually, Natsu, Happy, and I became a team of three. [Then I realized that I was tricked into helping them with a mission that required a blonde.] But we still did many missions together afterwards. I was always laughing at Natsus childish antics, even though it was sometimes annoying. The Dragon Slayer, the Exceed, and the Celestial Spirit mage had fun together.

I blinked, walking down memory lane again. I remembered the Duke of Everlue mission, my first job ever. We snuck into the mansion together and stole a book from the cruel man living inside the giant house. Unfortunately, Natsu pushed aside the 2,000,000Js in the job, since we technically didn't finish it. [The job was to destroy the book that the clients' father had written, not willingly. He wanted to get rid of the book that ended his father's life, but the book DAYBREAK had an unexpected twist to it and we gave it back to him.]

Or the time when we chased after the Dark guild Eisenwald. This was my first mission with Gray Fullbuster and Erza Scarlet. We had to chase the guild through a lot of things but we stopped them from using the deadly Death Magic, Lullaby, on the Guild Masters meeting.

Then Galuna Island, where Natsu dragged me along an S-class mission and we eventually broke the curse surrounding the demon villagers who lived there.

Or—

Well, we'd had plenty of adventures together, the five of us, and sometimes just original Team Natsu. I laughed at Erzas social-awkwardness, Grays stripping habit, Happy's obsession with Fish, and Natsus destructiveness. We became close.

But the previous conversation shook me. They actually heard that? I felt my face burn as I recounted it. Last night, I'd thought everyone was asleep while Natsu apologized to me, [and vice versa.]

I continued walking forwards, in a foggy daze, but I didn't notice the cliff until I started tipping over it. "Wah!" I cried, falling forwards but desperately trying to stop myself, snapping out of my thoughts. Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed my arm and pulled me back on safe ground.

I sighed in relief, and then my eyes followed the hand to the arms, then shoulders, then face. I blushed again and pushed him away, startled. "th-thanks." I mumbled. I had been so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't realize that there was a right angle turn in the road, and I nearly fell to my death, but Natsu [OF ALL PEOPLE!] caught me.

I walked back to the group, Natsu behind me with a confused expression on his face. Gray wolf-whistled and I punched him on the arm, not gently. "Sh-shut up."

He wiped the grin off his face. I was deadly serious, and when that happened all the men knew I was as scary as Erza.

We walked for another few hours, and then it was lunch. We set up camp and ate, me complaining about blistering feet. When we started walking again, Natsu did something unexpected.

We all packed up camp, putting it in our bags and getting out of the bushes to walk some more. Happy was flying next to me, and Natsu was on the other side. I was looking at the scenery, but keeping some of my mind focused so I didn't fall off another cliff.

Suddenly, I felt strong arms wrap around my waist and I was hauled onto somebody's shoulder. I cried out. "Ah!" I punched the person in the face, hoping that it would stun the person enough so I could grab my keys.

He growled at me. "What was that for?" I looked down. The 'kidnapper' was Natsu, looking at me in annoyance.

"Why are you carrying me?" I demanded, [but actually really surprised,] and prepared to swing my bag around if he didn't let go.

"You were complaining that your feet hurt, so I hauled you over my shoulder. I'm helping you, but you punched me in the face. I don't get your logic Lucy." He sighed, and I wanted to yell at him that if he brushed off that punch so easily, then it shouldn't have been a problem.

I glanced at Kura and the others, who were trying hard not to laugh. Gray had his cheeks blown up and was holding his stomach trying so hard. Happy was the same, his wings twitching with each giggle. Kura and Aiko looked mildly amused, but Erza didn't at all.

I blushed on his shoulders. "You don't need to do that Natsu. I mean seriously. Let me go. This is uncomfortable." Physically _and_ emotionally. "I'm fine. I was just complaining cause I could." He let me down, folding his arms behind his head.

I stepped towards Gray and Happy, and grabbed onto both of their ears. I pulled them towards Erza, and their eyes widened. "Nonononononono..! Please Lucy, have Pity!" they both cried.

"Do whatever you want with them." I told Erza smugly. The Knight smiled.

Shortly after, the two were wailing for forgiveness. Gray had been dragged off into the bushes, where we waited for them to return, and Happy's bag [full with fish,] was taken away and put on Erzas belt, in full view. He drooled as we walked, because of his nose twitching, I could tell that the smell was getting to him.

We didn't hear what Gray's punishment was, because it was mostly silent. There as only a flash of Erzas requipping light. No cries for mercy from Gray, and no explosions in the background. Nobody dared to look through and watch though, as all of Erzas punishments were horrible. When they emerged, Gray was red faced and breathing heavily, and sweating, looking shocked. He was physically unscathed. Erza was in her normal clothing, seemingly fine. When I asked what she did to him, Gray would shake his head hard and pale considerably. We left him alone to his own devices after that.

Practically everyone was left to their own devices. Nobody spoke, and everyone's eyes were slightly glazed over. We were all thinking of something. I was thinking about Team Natsus missions together, and how fun it was to be with the two idiots. Even though we were staying to protect Kura and Aiko, I didn't feel like a mission, or a burden. The members of FairyTail made everything fun, I thought, even when it was a very serious situation. I giggled. I remembered when Natsu was acting stupid—

Wait. That was pretty much every second of his life. I scoffed. What was I gonna do with my nakama sometimes? I mean, he could be serious, especially when you threatened his friends, but other than that he was the class clown. [Although he himself didn't get half his jokes.] He showed the childish side of him most, even though he could be caring sometimes. [Emphasis on 'sometimes.' It had to be very simple for him to understand problems, and even then, his usual answer was to punch the problematic persons face in.] He was a crazy lunatic, not understanding the meaning of overdose, or stop; it was simply not in his very small mental dictionary. I would have bet that Natsus first words were probably,

Destroy,

Fight,

And team mate.

It was the first words that he understood. The words,

Stupid,

Childish,

And stop,

On the other hand, were not. I grinned. Even though a lot of money on one of _[a lot more than one actually,]_ our missions was sent back to the client for repair funds, he always got the job done. He was an amazing mage, more than I could ever be [even though he would protest against this, saying that I was smarter than him in other ways. This made me blush furiously that he was being so modest, even though we both knew it wasn't true.]

...

[Okay, maybe I was smarter than him, but I could never even compare to him in a fight.]

But anyways, Team Natsu was a great trio that worked well together, including the additions to Erza and Gray [both more powerful than me.] Luckily, most of the time it was just us three. Both of them were idiots, I was the one with the most sense, but their childish antics never allowed a dull moment. Their sense of logic was twisted sometimes, calling _me_ the weirdo for example. You call a flying, talking blue cat and a crazy flame throwing/eating/headed maniac normal? Compared to them, I was a simple, young, innocent lady. [which I wasn't... totally.] Natsu may be simple on the outside, but sometimes his actions confused me. how could a random childish boy, getting into fights every day, destroying numerous building at a time, jumping up on the tables and dancing to nonexistent music in one moment, become a fierce fighting machine the next?

I shook my head. Natsu was a complex character. I finally settled on the analogy of his mind as a tunnel, mostly straightforward but also with many side tunnels too. I smiled, taking my thoughts away from Team Natsu and thinking about other things.

* * *

We continued walking until nightfall, eventually stopping and setting up camp again. "By tomorrow we'll be at the next town, so we should all rest. Whoever takes guard duty will wake either me or Gray or Kura early in the morning so that they can have some sleep."

"I'll stay up." Kura offered. No one disagreed with it, and Aiko joined her, so everyone got into their sleeping bags.

About an hour later, I looked up, wide awake.

"K-Kura? Aiko?" I asked. They looked at me, startled that I was still up.

"mm-hmm?" she looked at me, and I pushed myself onto my elbows, making sure that everybody was firmly asleep.

I was more embarrassed than ever, but there was no one to talk to, and I needed to explain it to somebody before I exploded. "w-well, could I ask you a question?" she looked confused. "A-a private one? Gray would mock me; Natsu's not a good person to talk to in these situations, and Happy and Erza's... Happy and Erza."

They blinked, but scooted over to make some room. "Girl issues?" Kura asked politely. I nodded, hoping my hair would cover my burning face.

"K-Kura? Did you ever have someone you liked, but you were afraid that if you asked him out, you would be afraid that he would say no and completely wreck your friendship? Like it would make it awkward if you ever saw each other again?" Kura nodded. Akio grinned. I knew I couldn't talk to Kura without talking to Aiko, and they both seemed understanding enough.

"I had a best friend, Ren. I told you about him on the train ride, remember?" I thought back to the train.

"you told me he died of a disease." I said.

The sword user ducked her head. Akio looked at her, gaze questioning. _When was this?_ It was her turn to blush. "Not exactly. He died from the explosion I made. He died because of me." she shook her head. "Anyways, we were best friends, that much was true, and he very much reminded me of your friendship with your Dragon Slayer."

I decided to turn the quiet conversation to her. I wanted to know more about her past. "did you... like him? as more than a friend?"

"the three of us, Ren, Aiko, and me, were best friends since childhood, that is correct, but later, much later, only a few months before the Attack, I think I started to realize that I did like him... as more than a friend. It was like my emotions were beginning to bubble up, but I was afraid that the feelings weren't mutual. So I kept quiet, but it was killing me every time we saw each other. I wanted to be known as more than his best friend, but I was too scared to possibly break a crack in our friendship instead."

Aiko lifted her head proudly. "she told me, but I already expected it."

Kura raised an eyebrow at me. "Lucy, answer me honestly, or I know you'll never say it. Do you love Natsu?"

I flinched. Did I? Through all the adventures that we'd been through make me enjoy his company as more than a friend? I mean sure, he was my best friend and companion [along with Levy,] and he made me laugh and cry and helped me pick myself up... but still...

"IthikIvfallnfurthesamonharedidot..." I mumbled. Kura and Aiko leaned in.

"I didn't hear you. What did you say?"

I said it slower, but my tongue didn't seem to obey me anymore. "I-I think..." I swallowed. "Ithinki'vefallenforthesalmonhairedidiot." Kura leaned back, understanding my words.

"I'm not saying that you should tell him now, but the more you suppress it, the more it'll hurt." She glanced at me from the corner of her eyes. "I don't know if you've only just realized it, but no offense, it's obvious. You should tell him eventually. at some point, it may be too late."

My face burned. Did I seriously admit that I liked Natsu, even though I still wasn't sure? But instead of feeling humiliated, I was slightly proud and my feelings started to sort themselves out. [Okay, scratch that, I was feeling a little humiliated.] Even though it was slightly strange, before FairyTail I could have never imagined myself falling for a crazy lunatic nutcase like Natsu, [and his hair was PINK, for god's sake!] it was undeniable.

I fell in love with the king of all idiots.

Kura glanced at me again, smiling coyly at my expression. "Don't be afraid to tell him Lucy. I've only known you for the past week, not even. I've seen the way you two look at each other."

I blushed. "Was I really that obvious? I mean, I knew the FairyTail girls had already 'shipped' us two, but-"

She nodded. "Ohhhhhhhhhhh yeah."

" You guys were open books that everyone else could read, except you two." Aiko added. She seemed more like a dating expert than Kura was.

I muttered a curse under my breath. "I didn't know it was that obvious, even when I didn't know I liked him..."

Kura shrugged. "Well, I wouldn't ask him out now, especially with all the chaos around here, maybe when it's settled down a bit."

I nodded, lying back down and closing my eyes. "Thanks Kura, Aiko."

"Your—" I was so tired that I didn't hear the rest of her sentence.

* * *

We woke up in the morning and started to walk again. My feet hurt, and I even asked Gray if he could cover my feet in ice to numb them because they hurt so much. He obliged, but right after he did it, the pink haired Dragon Slayer really did throw me on his shoulders.

"Natsu!" I cried. "I'm perfectly capable to walk on my own!"

He looked up at me but didn't let me down. "Luce, I can smell the blood on your feet, and I can see you wincing when you walk. I'm carrying you."

I opened my mouth to protest, but didn't want to bother him more than I had to, especially because he was carrying me over his shoulders like a pack mule. At his decision. He looked tired, with rings underneath his eyes and looking oddly conflicted about something. He didn't talk, but carried me along like I was a featherweight. To him, I probably was.

Gray looked at me, about to laugh, but then remembered the punishment Erza gave to him last time and shut up, paling again. I wondered, yet again, what it was.

Everyone was silent. Nobody dared speak even though we all wanted someone else to. Finally, reaching the town, marching silently like a funeral parade, we stopped for a bite to eat. Natsu put me down. My feet were still numb from Gray's ice, but I was thankful for the numbness. I was pretty sure if I looked at my feet right now I would have gasped in shock.

We ate at a nearby cafe, deciding to stop and rest for the rest of the day, but this caused a major argument to break out.

Erza took a sip of her coffee, leaning back on her chair with a piece of strawberry cake in front of her. "I think that we should stay here and rest for the rest of the day before walking some more. We can look around and have a breath to relax."

Kura raised her eyebrow. "Erza, isn't there a train station here? We could just ride the train, couldn't we?"

Gray bumped in, eating a deli sandwich. "The train tracks here don't really go that far, and because of the lack of people, it costs too much."

Natsu agreed with him [for once.] "No more transportation!" I smiled at him. The only time he would agree with his frienemy is when it involved not moving on a vehicle. Suddenly, he remembered something. "wait, what about Lucy?"

Erza looked at him curiously. "What about me/her?" we both asked. _[Inside, I was debating if I felt any different to Natsu just because I realized my admiration to him. was it wrong to look at him any different now? would he be different now?]_

"I mean what about her feet? She can't walk that well."

I felt a bush creep up on my neck [I'd been turning red a lot lately, I noticed.] "Natsu, its fine. I can walk on my own."

He ignored my sentence and turned back to Erza. "Shouldn't we stay here for an extra day to let her feet heal?"

I protested against this. "It's fine Natsu. Seriously, it's okay." Even though my feet did hurt, I could walk and I wouldn't stop the marching band because of it.

He glanced at me from the corner of his eye, his onyx eyes searching mine. "Fine then, if your feet are 'perfectly fine', take off your boots and socks." I was surprised at Natsus thinking. He had me there for once. My feet were probably bloody and blistered and likely very gross. It wouldn't help my case if I showed them the mess.

I waved him off, turning away from the conversation, but still listening. Natsu smiled, [possibly in relief?] The rings under his eyes and the way he was moving, slow and lethargic, unlike his usual movements, told me he was tired and was ready to snap.

Erza blinked slowly. Everyone was tired. "You're right, Natsu."

I stared at her. No way was she agreeing with him! I was hoping that Titania would convince [more like make,] Natsu to walk, but the stubborn boy refused to until tomorrow.

Finally, it was settled. We would stay here for the rest of the day, sleep outside of town, come back, and then leave at noon. It was the only thing Natsu would accept, and even he was skeptical. I protested against this.

"We're on the run from criminals that want to hurt-slash-kidnap-slash-steal away Kura. We can't let me stop you, or we're gonna get caught eventually."

Kura had been oddly silent for the last few minutes, calmly eating her wrap. "Lucy, you need rest. Natsu said he smelled blood on your feet."

Aiko finished for her. "Take it from us, who walked-slash-flew all the way to your guild, with long detours. If your feet start to bleed, it's bad. If it gets worse, then later we won't be able to move in a week. It's a day now or a week later." She quieted down.

I pushed the chair back. "Fine. Whatever. I'm going now." wincing when I took off, I walked quickly back to the deciding point of camp, sheltered from view by some bushes. I sighed, and then took off my boot. I wanted to see how bad it was.

I widened my eyes, and quickly pulled my sock back on. It was bad. **[A.N. no detail given.]**

I heard water nearby, so I went deeper into the forest and saw the tiny stream. it was no more than a trickle, but I took off my boots again, but not the socks, and let my feet soak in the warm water. I sighed.


	11. Chapter 11

**Allo peoples! Sorry for not uploading faster! Really, with exams and all that stuff it was hard this week. anyways, so far so good, right? **

**To **Lunarose**; so you noticed, huh? I first did this thing on word and changed the font so it looked a little different... ****_but_**** you cant do that on fanfic. Ah, whatever. I didn't want to make it too not obvious though either. *grins* so what ****_will_**** it mean later on in the story? **

* * *

**Natsus POV**

The first thing I wanted to say was that I heard _everything._

Last night, I hadn't been able to sleep. I was thinking hard about what Kura said to me on the train. _"Ah..." I could fell a burning sensation creep up on my neck. Since fire or heat didn't affect me, I knew I was blushing. "Hi K-Kura! Aiko!"_

_ "You don't have to pretend. I heard the whole thing." they grinned slightly, Kuras purple-y eyes glittering. It was the same look Mira got when she was talking about relationships. Uh-oh. _

_ "Y-you... heard?" _

_ Kura nodded, suddenly serious. "You really do care for that girl? Don't you?" _

_ I looked away. "Yeah, she's my best friend, along with Happy. We hang out a lot and stuff." Of course she was. She was my close nakama. Even though she drove me off the wall sometimes, [and she called me weird?] she was my best friend, along with Happy. _

_ She smiled again, and I was wondering what she was smiling about. Her eyes took on a slightly glazed look, like she was thinking about someone in her past. I suspected she was. "Mm-hmm... you guys remind me closely of two people." _

_ I looked up. "Who?" _

_ "A friend and I. Just remember, once they're gone, you can't go back."_

I stood up from the chair, making Erza, Gray, Aiko, and Kura look up. "I'm gonna see if she's okay. It's not good to go out on her own." I mumbled, and then walked off, following her scent.

Knowing Lucy, I knew she wasn't mad at either of us, more at herself. She always considered herself the underdog when it came to the five of us, [except Happy, but he's a cat.] especially now, when she was holding us back. I still concerned with her safety though, and actually considered buying her a new pair of more comfortable boots. I blinked. Where did that come from?

I looked down at my own sandals. They were [extremely] worn leather, and had to get repaired often, but they were comfy and I never got foot aches. Lucy's boots were meant as a fashion statement, but when she bought them she probably wasn't thinking about the size too much. [Knowing Lucy.]

The thoughts from the train ride and last night came into my mind.

_"I think I started to realize that I did like him... as more than a friend. It was like my emotions were beginning to bubble up, but I was afraid that the feelings weren't mutual. So I kept quiet, but it was killing me every time we saw each other. I wanted to be known as more than his best friend, but I was too scared to possibly break a crack in our friendship instead," Kura said to the Celestial Spirit mage. _

_ "She told me, but I already expected it." Aiko._

_ "Lucy, answer me honestly, or I know you'll never say it. Do you love Natsu?" _

_ With my super dragon hearing, I heard the dirt move a tiny bit, meaning she winced. She hesitated for a long time. "IthikIvfallnfurthesamonharedidot..." she mumbled. Even with the extreme senses I still couldn't make out what she said. Kura leaned in. _

_ "I didn't hear you. What did you say?" _

_ She said it slower, but the words still slurred together. "I-I think..." she swallowed. "Ithinki'vefallenforthesalmonhairedidiot." Kura leaned back, understanding her words. I stiffened in surprise. Lucy, my best friend and nakama, liked me... as more than just a friend? _

I still couldn't get over it. Even though I found it hard to believe, she hid it so well, my mind still couldn't connect the dots. I swallowed, still following her scent across town. It was getting hard because of all the people and the scent was mingling, and I had to take some detours before I found it again.

And although most people—ah, who am I kidding,_ everybody_ saw me as an immature, childish, salmon-haired idiot, I could understand the basics. But the one thing that was driving me absolutely insane was Lucy. It was an unfamiliar tingle in my stomach whenever I was close to her, or the fierce burn to protect her... as more than as a nakama.

But what was more than a nakama? I certainly had no higher title. My guild mates, my friends, my teammates were the most important people that I'd ever known. I'd been the one who invited Lucy to FairyTail, and together the three of us, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy, became a team. But now...

I growled in frustration. What was Lucy to me? I demanded to myself. She's already my best friend; she's already my teammate..? What was there left?

Lucy was a powerful, stubborn mage. She didn't see herself as strong, especially if you compared her to Erza or me, but she just didn't realize that she had just as much fighting power, but more in her own way. She could even put up with me and Happy, and I know how much we irritate her. [she always complained that we were bad for her health sometimes.] Even though she was weird, I had to say that the little blonde mage was stronger than she looked.

She jumped to conclusions too quickly, [recounting the time she thought she was leaving FairyTail after being kidnapped by Master Jose,] she loved taking showers, [which I sometimes bumped into,] and she was driven through the wall by idiots, [including me.] Lucy Heartfilia had very hard to explain personality. I didn't see the point over her obsession of the 'hot boys' in the magazines she read, and I think I flared a little warmer whenever she mauled over them. She would talk with her friends often, including Levy, Erza, Juvia, Wendy, and Lisanna, Happy and me, and even Gray sometimes. [It made me slightly peed that she'd talk to the ice pick. Even though the five of us were a team, I had no reason to speak with him, unless he made it his business to butt into one of my conversations.] She was great on missions, even though she scolded me for destroying yet another building [it was a habit at this point,] and sometimes even brought me to Erza if she was mad enough. Sometimes she didn't even _need_ Erza.

There was a turning sensation in my stomach that I couldn't identify as I walked down the market street. I automatically named it as bad. It wasn't making me feel good, so I quickly buried it, more focusing on Lucy's location. I twisted around a few times, then another strand of her scent caught on my nose. I finally found her scent at the pre-designated campsite. I walked deeper, and I found the actual Lucy by the stream, dipping her feet in the cool water. A small twitch indicated that she knew I was there, so I just sat next to her. her eyes were closed, but she was relaxed.

"hey." I said to her.

"hi." After that, there was a long awkward pause, except for the trickle from the stream. Lucy broke the silence, sighing. "I hate my feet right now." I grinned, then scoffed to cover it up. it was nice being here alone next to Lucy, especially since I knew that she'd be okay if she was using sarcasm. Her scent was around the area, and it was really hard not to just scoot closer to her and breathe down her neck. People said I didn't have social adequate, but I knew _that_ was crossing the line. She put her head on her knees.

"so, what's up?" she asked, looking over at me.

I blinked lazily. "nothing really, how 'bout you?"

Lucy pouted, [I loved that little pout of her whenever she was upset, and one day, I swore it was going to become my downfall,] "my feet hurt. Walking so much can't be good for them."

"going on transportation so much can't be good for me either." I pointed out, and she giggled a bit. The churning sensation in my stomach got worse. I pushed it down further.

She paused and thought for a moment. "I wonder if I became, like, super strong and then picked you up and carried you around on my shoulders, would you get motion sickness?"

I looked at her funnily, trying to think of that. Instantly my stomach began to turn. Lucy laughed. "we'll take that as a yes." She said as I put a hand on my stomach and tried to make the thought go away.

"all the motion would make me sick!" I blehed. Smiling, Lucy lifted her head a bit higher.

We chatted for a bit longer. "uh, Luce?" she hrmed.

"shouldn't we be heading back to the main group at some point?" I asked. "it has been at least an hour."

Lucy looked over at me. "really? I find it kinda nice."

I shrugged and leaned back. The celestial spirit mage surprised me by asking me a question. "hey Natsu? Could I see your scarf?" she asked.

I raised an eyebrow and glanced at her. Her brown eyes searched my face, which was making me slightly uncomfortable. "ya sure, why?" I unwrapped my muffler from my neck and handed it to her gently, feeling awfully guilty about it. it felt kinda weird having my neck available to open air, since I'd worn it for so long.

"I don't know. It just came to mind that I haven't really felt your scarf. Well, not really. It looks like reptile scales, but it doesn't feel like it. I was just curious." She was looking at me strangely while she said it.

I shrugged. "Igneel said it was from a dragon with smooth scales, I think her name was... Vapeer? But the dragon died and Igneel made a scarf out of it, then gave it to me. it was the only other dragon I heard of in my childhood, up until Grandine and Metalicana." I explained to her.

"so a dragon made a fine scarf like this?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought dragons were, like, huge."

"yeah. Igneel's snout was as tall as me when I was younger. He was really big. I saw him make the scarf on his own though, using his fire and claw tips." It was very cool watching my foster father heating up a piece of metal, then stamping it down onto the scales. He did it again and again, until the white scales were burned clean and stuck together in a pattern. Eventually, he dumped in into the stream and hung it up to dry.

"interesting." She landed the scarf to me, and our hands brushed. I tried not to jerk back. She studied my face curiously, then gave up and looked back at her sock-covered feet. She pulled them out and wrinkled her nose. "great, now there all wet." She muttered. She was about to put her boot back on, but I let out a quick jet of flame to dry the sock up, so at least it wasn't dripping wet.

She blinked. "uh. Thanks."

I stood up, waiting for her to put on her boot, only then noticing that Aiko was flying above us. Her wing was much better since Wendy healed it. Lucy looked up, following my gaze. Aiko winked at her and waved at me. The Celestial Spirit mage stood up, wincing a little. Kura broke through the bushes first, then Happy, Erza, and Gray, following Aiko.

"what are you two lovey-dovies doing here?" Gray grinned, and Lucy kicked him, completely forgetting about the blisters. She cried out and I caught her to stop her from falling. Whoops.

I blew a jet of flame at him, and it caught him in the face. He only looked mildly startled though, because it wasn't that strong. "sorry guys." Lucy picked herself up, dusting her clothes off.

Aiko flew down, landing quickly. Of course her wings weren't completely healed, so her landing wasn't perfect. Happy helped steady her. "Don't worry about it. You were upset."

She sulked, but Erza covered for her. "what about we split into groups and look around? We'll all go onto partners." Erza tugged Gray closer to her, so they were partners, Kura and Aiko, and all that was left was Happy, Lucy, and I.

"what about Happy goes with Kuras group? I don't think it's a good idea for Aiko to carry Kura if trouble arises." Happy, not wanting to disobey Erzas orders, rushed next to Aiko and Kura, looking at me apologetically.

I shrugged, understanding, then I did the math. Gray and Erza were together, and Happy, Aiko, and Kura were another. All that was left was Lucy and I. She put a hand on my shoulder. "I guess we're a group. Natsu."

"ya, sure." the groups split up, promising to meet back up in four hours.

I let Lucy drag me wherever she wanted, even though it was torture for me. she bought herself a pair of new comfortable shoes [after the fourth girly shoe store,] then went to window shop, me trailing behind her, bored out of my mind. Eventually, we stopped at a food court.

Lucy handed the required Jewels for the food. "thanks for staying with me." she told me as we walked to an empty table. We pulled up two chairs, and Lucy pulled out a matchbox from her bag. She lit one and tossed it into my dish. It caught flame, and I fist pumped. I couldn't eat my own fire, so Lucy kept a box of matches in her bag. It wasn't as good as certain magical fire, but most brands weren't bad tasting.

I started scarfing down food as fast as I could. I was STARVING. Lucy was staring at my incredible ability to eat food so fast.

"it all made sense when you told me when you were raised by a dragon," she said, raising her hands in front of her face.

I hrmed, looking up and stopping. "what?"

She sighed. "Natsu, first, your mouth is full. That's pretty gross." I swallowed. "second, the first day we met, I thanked you and paid for your food. you were eating like you are now, and then Mira told me you were raised by a dragon. It clicked."

"what clicked?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"why you're such a messy eater!" she chuckled. "you eat like a wild animal!"

I shrugged. "so what?"

She sighed in exasperation. "you're weird." I told her.

"you said that too when I first met you."

I blinked. "okay Luigi." I grinned. I did remember that I called her that once.

She blinked. "so you do remember!" Lucy cried.

"remember what, Luigi?" I grinned, and she made a swipe for my face. I ducked, chuckling. "you gotta be faster than that to catch me, Luigi!"

"it's Lucy!" she got up, but tripped over her two feet. I caught her, but ended up following her, landing on the ground with a muffled thud. We didn't stop laughing though, until I noticed something. I lifted my nose into the air.

"hey. Kura and her group are around here." I noticed, sniffing the air. Lucy looked up, wiping tears from her eyes.

"what?"

"aw, whatever." I helped Lucy up and we finished our food, ignoring the stares from anyone watching.

* * *

**Kuras POV**

I watched from the bushes as Natsu tried to catch Lucy, but ended up falling down with her. The two fell down on the ground laughing. I chuckled at passerby's strange looks, and the little display we were watching. Aiko and Happy were beside me.

Aiko grinned. "I totally wish I had a camera."

"Aye!" Happy piped in.

Suddenly, Natsu looked up, not laughing. He sniffed the air, then looked in our direction. Happy covered my mouth, [which wasn't necessary,] and we all stood frozen. Finally, Lucy said something and they turned back to their food. We giggled in the bush we were hiding in.

It was Happys and Aikos idea, and they dragged me along, but I was starting to enjoy it. The two Exceed loved it, watching the two as is they were made of cat treats.

"this, is, my, BEST, IDEA, EVER!" Happy shouted quietly.

"until we get caught." Aiko warned him. "the Dragon Slayer was too close last time. We'd better be careful."

"Why are we spying on them exactly?" I asked. The Exceeds turned and looked at me.

"Because it's practically a date!" Happy cried. I shook my head and grabbed the two cats by their wings. "Well if it's a date, then we should let them be alone." Happy and Aiko protested, but they were being slowly dragged off into a pet store, where I knew their interests could be directed somewhere else.

I pushed through the door and walked into the cat area. I immediately found a catnip fish shaped toy. Happy's eyes went wide. He was all over it in seconds, but Aiko crossed her arms across her chest and looked away. "I'm not going to fall for such stupid toys Kura. You know that. I'm smarter than him." she pointed to Happy, who was playing around with the little catnip fish.

She spun on her heel, back facing me. "I'm going ba—"

I grinned. JING-A-LING-A-LING.

She spun around and snatched the bell out of my hands, staring at it happily, then pouncing on it. In seconds, she was out in complete wonderland. Her tail waved back and forth while she stalked the little bell, and then attacked it, throwing the bell into the air, which caused it ring and make her happier.

I got up, then formed an excellent plan, deciding to be a little evil. I got one of those lacyrima powered remote controlled cars in one of the aisles. I took the bell and catnip bag from the two Exceeds [they protested,] and put the products in the back. I drove it forwards just as Aiko pounced for it. She wailed, then the two chased after the car. Happy took off on his wings, but I dodged him, working furiously with the controls.

I giggled as the two Exceeds chased after the car, wanting their toys back. Happy was catnip-drunk, and the jingling of the bell was driving Aiko insane. I kinda wished Natsu and Lucy would walk in so that they could see it.

"hey mister?" I asked the sales person. "could I ask you a favor?"

I told him my situation, how the two cats had watched my two friends having a date, and how I wanted to get back at them. the old man chuckled and handed me the materials, taking the remote and keeping the bell and cat-nip away from the Exceeds while I wrote on the piece of paper he handed me. I popped it in the little truck quickly, then took the remote, holding the door open as the car zoomed out. I closed it quickly, giving me two or three seconds from Happy and Aiko, and the little car zoomed up to Lucy and Natsus feet. They weren't too far, looking down at the little car and reading the note.

Lucy's lips moved. _"look at the pet store next to you. We are there. Look out for Happy and Aiko."_ They looked at us through the window, just as the two cats finally caught up with the car. I took off again, and the car zipped back into the store. Natsu and Lucy followed after the crazy cats.

The door closed again on their faces, but Happy opened the door and they chased after the car again. the sales owner chuckled. "certainly a good get-back prank. You just made my day."

I laughed, and then the Dragon Slayer and Celestial Spirit mage walked in. "what's with all the commotion?" he asked us. I grinned.

"Happy and Aiko were watching your date, so I got back at them for you." I indicated the truck, which they still hadn't caught yet. Natsu grinned.

"Happy deserves it. Could I see the remote?" I handed it to him, and he did a better job dodging the crazy cats than I did, until he crashed into a shelf. The Exceeds finally got their toys, stomping off that they'd been played with, moving off into a corner to play with their catnip fish/bell.

Lucy realized something. "wait a sec. It wasn't a date!"

The sales man chuckled. "by the young lady's description it sounded like it."

"it wasn't a date. She didn't give you the full details. We were partnered up, and I ended up with the idiot. He doesn't even know what a date is."

"Hey! I'm not an idiot!" he protested.

"ya, you are. What is a date Natsu?"

He blinked. "it's a fruit. kinda small and wrinkly, reddish and had a rock in it."

Lucy facepalmed. "For one thing that 'rock' is called a pit. And that's not what I meant, duh-head. I meant a date with two people going out together."

He scratched his head. "wouldn't that mean we go on these dates all the time?"

"The 'two of us' doesn't include Happy. And a date is supposed to be romantic."

"Like in your story when Josh and Zoey go out to a restaurant?"

"Yea—hey wait!" she clubbed him on the back of his head. "How— were you reading my story without my permission?"

He pouted a little. "I was just curious... I only read one page..."

Lucy held up three fingers. "I'm giving you three seconds to run." The pink haired boy, wide eyed, jumped out the door in a flash, his white scaled scarf disappearing into the crowd.

Lucy stomped after him, wielding one of her keys.

"Wow..." I commented to Aiko, who had finally pried her attention from the bell, "she can be as scary as Erza sometimes..."

The little cat nodded.

* * *

Finally, a couple hours later, everyone met up at camp, where we prepared an early supper and the others discussed battle plans. Natsu, to my amusement, had an almost comical bump on his head, evidence of Lucy finding him somewhere. After the others had left, Aiko and I had walked around, but we'd grown tired and came back here.

I blinked lazily at the group, trying to keep my eyes open. "We should keep heading west, I say, and looking for a safer place to stay than in some forest with nothing to protect us but a flimsy tent." The knight suggested.

"True," said Lucy to Erza. "Since we're staying here for the night, we should try to get further to catch up with what we mis—" The Celestial Spirit mages voice faded, and I felt myself drift off into someone's lap. I think it was Grays. I was so tired from the night before that I fell asleep.

* * *

A few hours later, I could tell by the orangey colour of the sky, I woke up. Lucy and Aiko were beside me.

"You're awake." Aiko was on my lap, looking up at me. Her bushy white-tipped tail waved back and forth.

"Sorry about that." I grinned sheepishly at Lucy. "I guess I was tired."

The mage smiled back. "Don't worry about it. I was planning on staying here anyways because of my feet. You gave Gray quite the scare when you fell right into his lap though." She giggled. "I should have brought a camera to take a picture of his face."

I blushed crimson and opened my mouth to protest, but then the rest of our group; Natsu, Gray, Erza and Happy, walked back into the camp. Natsu was holding a flaming torch and Gray a small bag. It smelled like food.

"You're awake." Erza said.

I nodded. "I only woke up like a minute ago."

"Well, we have food." the ice mage bumped into the conversation and held up the little bag. It wasn't much, but enough for the seven of us.

We settle down and ate slowly, enjoying the resting time. I was watching Natsu from the corner of my eye eat the fire on the torch. It was slightly strange seeing the Dragon Slayer put his mouth around the living, dancing heat and swallow like it was no big deal. By the look on his face it looked tasty too. I slightly wondered what fire tasted like. He caught my funny look.

"I'm sorry Kura." He said, looking slightly guilty. "Do you want some?" Natsu shoved the torch in my face and I fell back trying to avoid it. Lucy giggled, but quickly covered it up.

"Natsu! Kura can't eat fire like you can. You're a Dragon Slayer!" she shouted at him, still laughing. I giggled too.

"Don't worry. I'll leave the fire-eating to you Natsu. You can keep your fire."

He shrugged, "more for me," and continued eating. I wondered once again what the flames tasted like and if they were any good.

I turned to Lucy. "So Natsu can't eat his own flames, right?"

She nodded. "That's why I keep a matchbox in my satchel, but he's picky and will only except one kind. Apparently different brands of matches affect the taste of the fire. I don't know. He's like that."

He protested. "Fire does taste good, but certain brands taste bad. Some brands taste like flaming poo, where some others taste like actual good ash."

"And since when does charcoal taste good?" Lucy asked incredulously.

He opened his mouth to shoot back something, but pouted and changed his mind. "Ash tastes very good. You might think it's weird, but I find it weird that you can't eat fire. It's like two different fizzy drinks. They're the same thing, but they taste different."

"Okay." Lucy shrugged. "I'll accept you eat fire and that it tastes perfectly fine to you."

He went back to eating the end of his torch, grinning at the taste. I frowned, the answer to my question still not totally answered. I shrugged and went back to sharing my sandwich with Aiko. She was talking politely with Happy, discussing things like who could beat who in a fight, taking tiny bites every once in a while.

"Lucy verses Gray." Aiko shot. Happy considered it for a second.

"it would be a close call... if I had to bet... well, Lucy does have powerful spirits like Leo and Virgo and Taurus, but Gray is pretty powerful on his own. I'd say Lucy would win, unless it was cold. Lucy can't stand freezing weather."

Aiko thought, taking a tiny bite from her deli and thinking for a moment. "Lucy verses Natsu."

Happy chuckled. "Natsu definitely. Any spirits that Lucy could summon would be blasted away by Natsus fire."

"Kura verses Natsu."

He breathed in through his teeth. "I don't really know... cause I haven't seen Kura fight too much yet, but she did fight him once before... she won... I'm gonna say Kura, but that was probably cause Natsu wasn't prepared."

I leaned in. "that's what he says, but I could totally whoop Natsus behind again."

The Dragon Slayer overheard me. "You could not!"

I smirked, amused. "I beat you twice before. Once when I first joined the guild, and second when you stole my food."

Aiko changed the subject before any fighting started. She hated fighting. "Kura verses Erza."

Everyone but Erza and I gasped. Their eyes became clouded for a moment, and then they quickly snapped out of it, looking slightly terrified. Happy was the first one to speak. "I—I don't really know. I mean, I think Erza, but..." he didn't finish the sentence.

The Knight stood up. "What about we settle it right now?" she asked. Natsu and Lucy hugged each other for dear life.

"You mean fight? Right now?" I blinked, then grinned, unsheathing my sword. "Me and Ren did it all the time. Why not?"

A sword appeared in Erzas hands. "I'll make it fair. I'm not allowed to change armour, but I'm allowed to change weapons, and I'm only allowed to use one at a time. Is that fair?"

Gray muttered under his breath, "Erza should have her hands tied behind her back to make it fair." Luckily the knight didn't hear him.

I grinned again, placing myself at a distance. "I promise not to use magic either. Just some sword—" Erza shot forward, and it was only luck that I managed to tilt my sword so that the thicker blade that Erza conjured up didn't slice me in half.

_She had the stronger blade, but mine won't ever break. I've done some research on her most used swords; this is one of them. The blade is shatterable, but is very heavyweight. I won't be able to break it with this. Erza's fast, so I can't use my axe; it's too bulky. I'll save my four-magic sword as a last resort. _

"Heavy lance!" I cried. My usual narrow sword turned into something much bulkier. It was like a giant spear, similar to the one on Erzas giant armour. The redhead grinned, and I charged the tip with the electricity element.

I swung the tip around so it neared the Knight, but she ducked under it unexpectedly and lunged towards my open spot. I jumped over her, spinning around and turning the spear into another blade. "Magic sword!" I darted up behind her, but her sword changed into a huge, thick knife-like blade, more like a hunk of metal, and blocked the strike. I pressed down, but she threw me off, sending me flying. I landed on my feet. "Scythe." The sword changed into a giant curving knife that was almost as big as me. It was very hard to use, but was the strongest magical form of my ever-changing sword. The metal crackled with dark magic power.

I grinned. "I didn't want to use this, but you've given me no choice, Titania."

"That's your scythe." She nodded in approval, heaving her giant blade. "If you're using your strongest heavyweight blade, I guess I will too." A new blade appeared in her hands, she needed two to carry it. It was like the first one, but even bigger and mightier looking. I thought it was one from her purgatory armour set. It was black, with dark spikes lining it.

She charged me, but I blocked it with my scythe. To avoid being sliced into pieces, she jumped up, swinging the giant blade above her head. I side-stepped as Erza landed on her feet; I jumped away to avoid getting hit. Neither of our blades were meant for close-up battling, but she had the advantage if it happened, and she knew it.

She dodged under my strike, using her weapon to trip me. Suddenly, I was on my back and staring up at a silvery sword in my face. My blade had flown across the clearing and imbedded itself in a nearby tree, now out of my hands and in its normal form.

I glanced at Aiko, Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and Gray. The rapid fire changes scared them. They all looked terrified, until the little blue cat raised his arm.

"E-Erza wins..." he said. The knight helped me up on my feet.

"Good fight there. It was until the very end you made the tiny mistake," she told me. "If it wasn't that swing that made you open, I don't think it would have been easy to get you down."

"Thanks. I think I understand the nickname 'Titania' now." I grinned. "you are a fierce warrior in battle. I wouldn't want to be your enemy."

We walked back to the group causally smiling at the stunned faces. I sat down.

Ironically, Aiko and Happy stopped playing their 'who verses who' game soon after that.

* * *

A couple hours later, it was night fall.

"I'm not tired," I insisted. "I just took a three hour nap. I'll go for guard duty."

Natsu pouted. "but you just took duty yesterday. You should sleep."

Lucy patted Natsu on the arm. "if she says she's not tired, then she's not, okay?"

His bottom lip jutted out. "okay. I'll take first watch and you can take second." I nodded, walking to Aiko cuddled up in the blankets. The whole day had been hard on her, so she fell asleep almost instantly. I sat down next to her and covered myself with the blanket.

Not soon later, we had all fallen asleep.

* * *

A gentle shake on my shoulder woke me up. it was Natsu. "Kura. Kura. Wake up."

"wake up!" he hissed gently. I blinked groggily and stood up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"My watch?" he nodded. Without disturbing Aiko I got up and leaned against the truck of a thick tree. I was very well rested, watching as Natsu carefully put himself down next to his blue cat partner and falling asleep. He'd taken much more time than he should have; the colour of the night sky was slightly lighter than it should have been if it was midnight. I estimated it was a little further than two in the morning.

Eventually, his turning finally settled and his chest rose and fell slowly with his breathing. I looked around, keeping careful watch for anything unnatural; sounds, smells, or movements. I peered into the dark forest, but soon gave up. I was already bored.

An hour or two later, I started drawing in the dirt; tiny, horrible, stick-figure dragons and monsters and such. I chuckled silently to myself. I was terrible at drawing or at any form of art; I mostly focused on my sword-play, so I never really had time for things like that. Especially nowadays.

I shrugged to myself and took my spinner out of my pocket. It spun around lazily for a moment before settling on the white side. _No magic tonight,_ I thought to myself. Before placing it back, I inspected the Dragon Slayer and Celestial Spirit sides. The tiny dragon, intricately designed unlike mine, stared back at me mockingly, and the shining star sparkled as if it knew something I didn't.

"What are you?" I asked quietly. Lucy shifted at my voice; I froze as she thudded onto her side, showing her Celestial Spirit Gate Keys.

I glanced at the key ring quickly. _Maybe I could try... _

_Oh no, Kura, don't do it._ I shifted back into a comfortable position, but the keys were like a bright shining light that I couldn't ignore. _I had self-control,_ I assured myself. _Master told me to ignore temptations, because they always came with a price... Like getting my behind kicked by Lucy,_ I added sourly.

I scooted forward quietly, and unclipped one of Lucy's silver Gate keys. When I held it up, luckily, I recognized it. It was Nikora, the Canis Minor spirit. I think I read once in the Sorcerers Magazine that the Celestial Spirit mage called it Plue.

_To summon a spirit, the mage must have their key and must have a contract with it, if they already have a contract with the mage, they will not be called at all by anyone else. Either person/spirit at the end of the deal can call the contract off whenever they wish. Spirits live in the Celestial Spirit World, a world parallel to—_

I held the key as if it was coated in poison. _This is so bad, this is so bad, this is so bad..._

I waved the key in front of me. "Open, Gate of the Canis Minor, Nikora!" I hissed, trying to imitate Lucy as best as I could.

Nothing happened at first. I wasn't disappointed, I didn't really think that anything would happen anyway, but then, to my surprise, little bubbles floated out of the end of Lucy's key and I stumbled back in surprise. "oh my lord, oh my lord, oh m—" I stuttered. What happened to _if they already have a contract with the mage, they will not be called at all by anyone else_! I thought frantically.

The little bubbles formed together, and then the little blob grew arms and legs. A tiny snowman like creature popped into view.

"Pun..?" the look on Nikoras face was confused. "Pun!" the little snowman ran up and hugged me, even though I thought I was dying of a heart attack. I was way over panicking.

I held up my spinner. For the first and only time, it was on the Celestial Spirit side. "Oh my lord..." I whispered. Did this mean I could use Celestial Spirit Magic?

Plue stepped back, shaking on his tiny legs. Even I had to admit he [was it a he?] was adorable. Nikora suddenly became very serious, waltzing over to Lucy key ring. "Pun!" he cried softly, not wanting to wake the others up. I crawled over to him.

He was pointing to the Keys. "Are you sure? Lucy won't be very happy if she finds out I was using her keys."

He nodded his head, insisting. "Pun!"

I pointed towards Lyras silver Gate Key. He shook his head, pointing towards the golden keys. I looked at him doubtfully. "Are you trying to get me killed?"

He shook his head, still shaking.

I held up another key, gold this time.

"Taurus?" *shake*

"Scorpio?" *shake.*

"Virgo?" he hesitated, but then shook his head.

"Leo?" he nodded joyfully, then disappeared into the Spirit World, clearly expecting me to use the Golden Gate key.

I held it up in the moonlight. Lucy shifted again, and I froze. The key ring disappeared underneath her.

I did what Plue wanted me to. "Open, Gate of the Lion, Leo!" I whispered quietly. In a flash of golden light, an auburn haired man, in his early twenties, appeared. He wore a smart-looking black suit and matching shoes and glasses.

"Yes Lu—" his eyes widened when he saw it wasn't his master who called him. "Kura!" he cried, a little too loudly for my tastes, and ran up and hugged me, too fast for me to reach out and grab my sword. He held me in a bear-like embrace. "Oh my god, it's really you... I didn't think I'd ever see you again..." he squeezed tighter.

"Uh... ah... umm... Leo? I think you're suffocating me." I was too startled to give a demanding answer. Reluctantly he let me go.

"Now what were you saying about seeing me 'again'? I've never seen you before." I leaned forward, putting my hand on my sword hilt. He straightened out his suit hurriedly, very obviously stalling.

"Uh... I'm sorry. I was just wondering why someone other than my master would call me." he wouldn't look me in the eye though.

I laughed quietly. "so you hug me? You are an even more pathetic liar than I am. Now seriously, tell me the truth. How do you know me?" I demanded, in all seriousness.

"You look a lot like another person I know." still lying.

"When did you last see me?" I took out my sword, putting it in front of me and aiming for his chest. He swallowed. "You slipped up, and now you're telling me lies. Tell me the truth." I said, my voice rising with each syllable.

"I can't tell you!" he covered his hands over his mouth quickly.

"Why not?" I poked the tip of my sword into his suit, gently, but strong enough that he got the point. [Ignore the pun.]

He covered his hands over his ears and turned around, his back facing me. he started mumbling loudly. It was the most childish way to ignore a person, and for a moment, I was flabbergasted. "You're seriously doing..?" I spun around him, but his eyes were squeezed shut. He couldn't leave without my permission, but he wasn't doing what I told him to.

"Leo!" I cried softly, not wanting to wake the others. I was walking a fine line.

Suddenly, I heard a sound to my right and something flew out of the bushes. It was fast, and I only had time to register what it was—_a rock?_—before it hit Leo on the head, knocking him sideways. I took my sword and backed up against a tree, looking around for any signs of movement or flying projectiles. There were none, and once I felt sure enough that there wasn't anyone watching us, I bent down and helped Leo up.

"ow." He rubbed his head. "They caught me by surprise."

"Yeah, great Spirit you are," I said sarcastically. "Big cat, my arse."

He looked only mildly annoyed, too seemingly happy about me, [or whatever it was,] to be angry.

I picked up the rock and read the message.

We won't attack you, but we have Ren, alive. If you want him back, meet us at the western side of the town, near the Square. Be on the rooftops, so nobody will see. If you don't come or you tell the Fairies, we'll kill him.

The rock dropped to the ground, and for a moment, I didn't know what to feel. The air was silent. Leo picked up the note and read it. "Who's Ren?"

I didn't reply, but tears started to form in my eyes and trickled down my cheeks.

_ Ren was alive? A year ago, I thought I had killed him. But he's with them?_

My hands covered my mouth in trying to cover up my sobs. Leo looked at me curiously.

"This Ren... was he one of your friends?"

I didn't answer him again but sheathed my sword, leaving Aiko sleeping. I knew, as much as she would want to rescue him, she would wake up the others, because she wouldn't want me on my own. Leo put a hand on my arm. "You're not seriously considering this. It's probably all a plan to kidnap you. Kura. Kura! Listen to me!"

I stomped past him, giving him a cold glance. "if it isn't, I'll be letting Ren down."

Leo let go of my arm. "I'll wake up the Fairies."

"Fine. By then I'll get back Ren." I took the gate key and slashed it in the air in front of me. "Forced closure!" Leo disappeared, and a felt a slight wave of nausea hit me from forcing the gate closed.

I continued running to the Square on the western side of town.

* * *

**Once again, I'm ****_so_**** sorry for not posting sooner. I mean, seriously. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Short chapters... meh. But, it's full of action! **

* * *

**Natsus POV **

"Natsu! Natsu! Wake up, Damn it!" I rolled over onto my feet, but to my surprise it was Leo, Lucy's lion spirit, who woke me. My eyes widened. If he was here, and I could tell by the lack of Kuras funny smell, no Kura, something was wrong.

We immediately went to waking the others, when a small silvery thing caught my eye. It was Lucy's Nikora key, which should have been on her belt. I sniffed it. It smelled like Kura. She must have held it.

"Lucy!" the mage only took one shake before waking up.

"Natsu..?" she looked around. "Why's Leo here..? and where's Kura?" she bolted upright.

"I don't know, but I found this on the ground." I held up her silver Plue key. She snatched it from my hands and reclipped it to her belt. Her eyes went wide and she shuffled quickly through the ring.

"Where's Leo's key?" she demanded.

"There's no time to explain." Leo said. "Kura's headed to the Western side of town. Something about getting someone named-?" suddenly his form because shimmery.

"she's calling me to through the Gate! She's really scared right now and—" he disappeared.

"go, go, go!" Erza shouted. We started running, but Aiko flew ahead, putting on a burst of speed and flying over the rooftops, despite our warnings.

"Happy!" I cried, jumping up.

"Aye sir!" he ducked in and grabbed onto my jacket, his wings growing a size to keep both our weights up.

"The streets are too crowded! To the rooftops!" Erza shouted below me. The knight and ice mage jumped up, leaping roof to roof beside me. Lucy summoned Taurus, and I guess a walking, talking, panty-wearing axe-swing cow was enough to clear a path, because they ran forwards with no complaints.

I spotted the flying sparks and golden flashes just over the rooftops. I pointed. "Over there!" Happy put on another burst of speed and we left the group behind. Taurus grabbed Lucy in his arms and jumped to the rooftop. Lucy didn't like it.

Another rooftop passed, and we finally saw the battle. Leo was against innumerable enemies, but was desperately trying to fend off the mages to get to a large, navy blue, prison-cart-like van. I saw why. Some mages were placing an unconscious Kura into the car, but Aiko was trying to stop them, flapping around madly and placing punches and kicks at their faces. The tiny blows didn't do much but aggravate the mages, and one raised up his hand. An invisible force made Aiko stumble back, and he took her newly-healed wing roughly, shoving her in the cart. She cried out, but the doors slammed in her face.

"drop me next to the van and go help Leo," I told Happy. He did as ordered, letting me fall a couple of feet to the ground. Almost instantly, he was fried by a small jet of fire that sent him flying. I turned to look at the attacker.

It was Ember. "I don't want that annoying cat getting reinforcements." He told me.

"You..!" I growled, but he waved it away.

"Oh, relax. I'm not here for you." He dropped down, surprising me. He looked relaxed, also throwing me off guard. "We're here for the girl. Father told me not to get distracted, but—" he kneed me in the stomach, making me double over in pain, "I might as well do that while we're at it."

I straightened and went to punch him, but he blocked the blow, catching my fist in his palm. "Damn you." I growled, and sent a kick towards his midsection. He let go and bounced back, jumping up on the roof of the van.

"Move slowly." He told the driver. He turned back at me. "I'm sorry, I don't really have time for that." He grinned at my expression. "I do know your weakness, Dragneel. Come and fight me if you want."

I replied with a brilliant ball of flame, meant to rip up the road so the van would stop. I didn't want to hurt Kura, who was inside, but as soon as the flames got close to the car, they diminished. Ember didn't do anything but stand there and grin. The van was protected by magic.

The other vehicles started following the first one, and it was like a mini parade of cars. Erza, Lucy, and Gray were trying to stop them, freezing tires, smashing in windows, and generally causing mayhem, stopping as many cars as they could and checking their contents. They didn't see that the blue van held Kura, and it was too noisy for them to hear me. I turned my attention back to its getaway.

Suddenly, a small purple paw stuck out of the bared window, holding a small golden and white object. The thing dropped to the ground. I ran forwards and picked it off of the floor. It was a note from Aiko, scribbled hastily, but I didn't have time to read it. I shoved it into the secret pocket in my vest, and my hand brushed against another tiny object.

By now the van was going too fast. Ember grinned, watching my face, so busy he didn't notice a certain Lion Spirit falling from the sky.

At the last second, he looked up at the golden glow, but Ember didn't have enough time to move out of the way. "Regulus!" Leo fell on top of him, and the boy sent a spurt of fire at him. He jumped out of the way, but Leo came back and tackled him off of the van. "Natsu! The van!" I heard the loud command from Erza. They finally realized that the blue car was the prison cart. The car disappeared over the next corner. It took me a split second to register, then I ran forwards.

Ember scowled that now he was off the moving vehicle, and I punched him in the face, letting him fall forwards a bit before running past him. "Revenge!" I cried behind me, "for kneeing me in the stomach!"

I jumped to the rooftop. _I couldn't destroy the van, but what would happen if I stopped it?_

"Fire Dragons Wing Attack!" Two swaths of flame ripped through the road, but the van, swerving a little, wasn't affected. It just drove on. The van was nearing the end of town, and I was starting to panic. The car was getting further and further away from me, giving me less time to think.

Finally, I reached into my pocket for the tiny item Gramps gave to me. He said not to use it unless I had to, and I think this counted. I threw the tiny blinking object, and it landed on the door, sticking there. I mentally high-fived myself, but then I tripped over some ledge and fell flat on my face. I looked up as another car passed on the road.

Ember was on the roof of the car, flashing me a smile before driving off. I growled and picked myself up, but my energy level finally caught up with my legs and I collapsed on the roof. I couldn't move, especially to chase after the prison cart.

I stood up though, and jumped to the next roof. "I... won't... give up!" I cried exhaustedly. I jumped onto the next one, but the jump wasn't far enough and I ended up on the ground. It didn't really hurt, except when I landed on my injured arm. I crawled out of the alleyway and waited for the others instead, knowing that if I pushed myself too hard it would only stop us later.

Erza, Gray, Happy, and Lucy finally found me. They were cut up and bruised, but otherwise okay. "Natsu! What happened?"

"I just... ran after the van... but I couldn't... reach it... it got away..." I panted. I felt so disappointed in myself, because my friend was in trouble and I let her down. Who knows what would happen to her?

I stood up, and started walking towards the end of the road. Lucy blinked and put a hand on my arm. "Natsu. Stop. You're going to collapse at this point." That's when I fell forwards, and she rushed forwards to catch me. "See what I mean?" she put me down gently. "You don't have any wounds, but you're exhausted."

I nodded, my throat suddenly going dry. I breathed in and out, looking at the others. "The getaway van got away, but I can track it with this." I reached into my pocket and grabbed the other tiny object. It was a little red orb, and when I pressed the button a screen popped up.

"A tracking lacyrima? I thought those were illegal for use except the army." Erza looked surprised.

"Master gave it to me. He didn't tell me it was illegal." I blinked. The concept of Gramps doing something illegal was foreign to me. Still, it was for the best.

The screen showed a little dot moving along, north from here. The road it was on was long and windy. I pictured Aiko hovering over an unconscious Kura, waiting for her to wake up.

"Aiko dropped this out the window." I said, taking the note and Leo's Golden key out of my pocket too. Lucy cried out and took the key, then as a second thought grabbed the note.

The note was hastily scribbled, but very neat, despite that. Aiko or Kura must have carried a pen, because the note was written in black ink.

_** We're okay. Kura got hit on head, unconscious, but otherwise fine. I'm okay. Please help. Door's not opening, walls magic-ed. Still have her sword. Can hear you outside. –Aiko**_

On the other side there was another note, written beforehand.

_We won't attack you, but we have Ren, alive. If you want him back, meet us at the western side of the town, near the Square. Be on the rooftops, so nobody will see. If you don't come or you tell the Fairies, we'll kill him._

Lucy blinked. "Kura mentioned someone named Ren. He was like her childhood friend or something. He was supposed to have died in the explosion."

"maybe you should try and summon Leo. Maybe he'll know." Erza suggested. "nobody can summon Celestial Spirits but their contractors, but somehow Kura summoned your Lion spirit."

"Okay." Lucy got out her key.

* * *

**Lucy's POV**

I grabbed the key. "Open, Gate of the Lion, Leo!"

My spirit appeared, suddenly looking very tired. His suit didn't look as fresh-pressed as it usually was and his glasses were slightly lopsided.

"I was wondering when you'd call me for answers." He said. He sat down. "It's a very long story of how I know Kura, and I can't quite tell you all of it."

"Why not?" Natsu demanded.

He sighed, and I looked at the Dragon Slayer from the corner of my eye. "Shut up and let him talk!"

"When Kura was younger, much younger, she ended up in the Celestial Spirit's hands. We raised her for awhile, because we had..." Leo thought for a moment, "to keep a promise to someone. That someone was a caring person, but she died, and the little baby Kura was taken into the Spirit World and raised by us for about four years. In a way, I'm kinda her uncle. That's what she called me anyways." He told us.

"But suddenly, we couldn't take care of her anymore. There were long and complicated reasons behind it, but we had to give her to someone else. So we dropped her off at what she knows as the Church, which was a kind and friendly environment, where her power couldn't do any harm. We were banned from ever seeing her again, but we pledged an oath to the baby, so that even if we had contracts with someone" he glanced at me, "she could still call us, as long as she had one of our keys."

"When Lucy was sleeping, she got curious and tried Plue's key. To her surprise, it worked, but then Nikora told her to summon me, so she could get answers. She asked all the wrong questions though, and I couldn't answer. Then the rock with the note," Leo pointed to the piece of paper I was holding, "hit me on the head and she read it, and that caused her to go into the Square and get kidnapped. She was baited."

Natsu leaned forwards. "Why can't you tell us the rest of the story?" he asked.

"I am literally banned from it. I can tell my part, but there are rules set by the Spirit King himself."

Erza narrowed her eyes. "Who are Kuras parents?" Leo looked up, startled. "You had a reason to take her, and since spirits are known as 'good' creatures, you must have had a good reason to take Kura away from her parents or guardians. The 'she' who you owe your promise to, the one that died, was she a Celestial Spirit Mage and Kura's mother? Because she died and couldn't take care of her little baby, you took Kura in, then had to drop her off at the Church for some reason?" I was surprised at Erzas reasoning. Leo probably knew who the parents were.

"I—I can't answer that." His head hung low. "Kuras mother was a Celestial Spirit mage, but she wasn't the one who asked us to take care of Kura. We accepted because she _was_ her daughter, but no, she was not the person who asked. The answer doesn't belong in the Celestial Spirit Domain, so I am banned from telling you."

"What do you mean, Celestial Spirit Domain?" I asked. "Like, World?" he nodded.

"So anything not related in your world you cannot tell us?" I asked. He nodded again.

"Kuras story is broken up into sections, and I only can only tell you our domain. The other pieces are strictly off limits. If I told you... extremely bad things would happen."

"Fine then, I'm summoning Crux." I said, slightly irritated. It wasn't like Leo to be evasive, usually he would tell me everything, but now he was obviously in distress. I didn't know why he wasn't allowed to tell me the rest of the story.

"Open, Gate of the Cross, Crux!" I slashed the silver key in the air, and a grey cross with a face popped into view. He had a small body, and a large moustache.

"I'd like you to give me any information you can find on Kura..." I blinked. "What's her last name?" I asked the others.

Erza piped in. "I was assigned to put away her folder. Her last name is Fenline."

Gray frowned. "Didn't that Kante person call her Kura Iris though?" Erza thought for a moment.

"Yes. I do remember Kante calling Kura, Kura Iris."

I turned to Crux. "Tell me anything you can on Kura Fenline/Iris." Crux's eyes widened a bit, and he glanced at Leo. The lion nodded his head slightly.

The old cross fell asleep. Natsu leaned forwards. "Is he sleeping or searching?" he asked me.

"He's searching... I think."

Suddenly, Crux burst awake, scaring Natsu backwards. "Kura Iris, a destructive magic mage, age 17, best friend Aiko the Exceed and Ren Phoenix. She was raised for a short period by the Celestial Spirits, and was given a sword and Infinity Spinner by three of the Dragon race." He fell asleep again.

I sighed. "We already know that."

Erza glanced at Leo. "Why could he tell us about the Infinity spinner? If it was given to her by Dragons, shouldn't he not be able to tell us about it?" she asked Leo.

"The Infinity Spinner was made by the Celestial Spirit King with the _help_ of dragons. It still is part of our domain."

I was trying to fit the puzzle pieces together in my head, Kura identity and what was going on. Suddenly, my eyes widened.

"Leo, where was Kura born?" I asked frantically.

Leo blinked in confusion. "Earthland."

"_When_ was she born?"

Leo swallowed. I smiled tightly. "Kura was raised in the Celestial Spirit World for a couple of years. The time here is much faster. A day there is three months here. If she was there for a year or two..."

The man nodded sadly, his lips tight. "It is true. Kura wasn't born in the last century or even the one before that. Kura was born a little more than 350 years ago."

We all gasped.

"So Kuras, like, 400 years old?" Natsu demanded. Leo nodded, wiping his glasses on a handkerchief that magically appeared in his hands. His eyes were distant.

I wondered what would happen now.

* * *

**CLIFFHANGER!...;D... MWAHAHAHAHA! **


	13. Chapter 13

** Kuras POV **

My body was thrown across the van, and I hit my head against the wall, waking up quickly like I was dumped with cold water.

"Holy—!" the bump on my head throbbed painfully, and I reached up to feel it. That hurt.

Aiko looked up. she'd been resting on my stomach while I'd been unconscious, now noticing that I was awake. The dazed look in her eyes told me she hadn't slept for awhile.

"Kura!" my cute little Exceed threw herself around my neck, nearly in tears. For a second, all I could see was purple.

"Aiko..!" I stroked her back. I was happy that I was with her, but sad that my little cat had been captured. Perhaps I was selfish, wanting to keep her here with me.

I was slightly shocked when I felt the wet tears land on my vest. "Aiko..?"

She sobbed into my shoulder, tail tucked between her legs. "I-I thought... you w-were dead, at first, cause h-... he hit you on the head... an-and you dropped to the ground, like a r-rock, and I was so worried f-for you! I tried f-fighting, but I only e-ended up getting captured! I know you a-always told me if... you got caught for m-me to run, but—" Aiko couldn't continue for a moment. "I jus-st coul-couldn't watch my b-best friend being c-carted away!" she burst down into more tears, and I rubbed her back, reassuring her.

"Aiko, you're so sweet... Don't worry... I'm okay... It was stupid for me to get baited and making you get worried."

"It wasn't your fault... We'll be okay. Shhh..."

Finally, her sobs dissolved into hiccups and she collapsed in my arms. She fell into a fitful sleep, riddled with tiny hitches and slight turning. I didn't know how long she'd been awake, but it must have been a long time to collapse in such a way. I smiled tightly and stroked her soft fur. Aiko was like a daughter to me, I'd raised her for six years, and she was my best friend in all these tough times. She worried too much for my safety, and too little for hers.

I wiped the tears forming in my eyes. I didn't know what was going to happen to us, but whatever it was, it was going to be bad.

* * *

I woke up to loud bustling outside and an absence of jostling. The van had stopped.

I woke up Aiko, and she blinked her eyes open, yawning. She looked around at the situation, and then stood up as I unsheathed my sword. They didn't disarm me, and I would use every ounce of my power to get out of this van, I swore.

But I didn't get the chance. As soon as the door opened, I was blinded by sunlight, and I felt long cords wrap around my arms, legs, and mouth. Aiko fell back to the floor, bound by the same magic.

"Not trying to escape, are you Miss Iris, I presume?" a voice asked. When the figure came into focus, a tall, slim man wearing a spiffy blue outfit, I tried to swear at him.

He tutted, reached in, then hauled us out of the van, each with one hand. For such a skinny person, he was immensely strong. "I am sorry for the drag, miss, but I am required to bind you while bringing you to your cell. Master wouldn't want you escaping."

I swore again at him. I tried using my magic on him, but of course, it was off at this point. Luckily for him, or I would have blown him off the planet. He kept his view ahead of him, not bothered from carrying two heavyweights.

"Don't worry, Miss Iris, I will have your weapon delivered to your cell after. It is just hard enough to carry both of you while you're struggling like this."

I fumed, but stopped moving. Maybe if I was nice enough he'd turn his back around and we could make a break for it. although, I really hated him for calling me Iris. I'd been trying to forget that last name for a long time now. It was only a reminder of my past life.

I looked up at the large structure we were being dragged into. They were many small, separate buildings, all intricate but new. They were all fancy, decorated with shades of yellow and white and royal blue. Around us was desert, and the sand faded the buildings a bit, but not enough to hide the bright colours. Patches of grass littered the ground here and there. In the center of the cluster of buildings, there was a tall clock tower, surpassing all the buildings in terms of height. There was a giant clock face on it, reading 9:47 in the morning. What morning, I didn't know. The walls were made with heavy gray bricks, and the triangular roof was dark green.

"I will be escorting you to the lower levels of Clockwork Tower, where you will be held there until Master says so. Then, the FDC machine will be activated, then you will be brought to it. Master has been waiting for this a long time." The servant man told me.

"What's this FDC device?" I tried to say, but my voice was muffled from the gag. Luckily, he understood me.

"I'm not allowed to tell you, Miss Iris. I am sincerely sorry." _If you were sincerely sorry you'd let me go! _I struggled again, but the magic bonds didn't budge. This tiny man was clearly a mage, and wasn't going to let me go.

We were brought into the Clockwork Tower, where Aiko and I were dragged into the lower levels. At first, the design of the grand room was very beautiful. There was a long table in the middle, and two sets of staircases leading up to a balcony. On the balcony, I thought I saw a lacyrima powered elevator before the view disappeared behind the door frame.

The walls turned gray and cement, and we were lead down the staircase. With each step I bounced off the floor. Ow, ow, ow, ow... I winced. Luckily, Aiko was too short to touch the floor, but she looked at me concerned. I made a shaky smile.

Finally, the jostling stopped and we were in a hallway. The floor was unsmoothed cement, and as Mr. Servant dragged us to our cell, my skin scraped up a bit. "Ow!" I bit my lip hard.

There were only four cells, but they were large. Each one had a mouldy bed, a toilet, a rusty sink, and thick cement walls. Carvings decorated them, and I inspected the markings. Barrier magic circles, and by the looks of it, strong ones too.

The man threw us into the fourth cell, and we landed in a heap. The bars were so closely woven together it nearly made a wall, and tight enough that not even Aiko could squeeze through. The servant closed the door, and the binds around us faded.

"It is not recommended you use magic, miss. The walls are spelled with absorbing magic. It is absorbing your power right now, but if you attempt to use your own incredibly powerful magic, it will absorb too fast for your body to handle. I wish you the best, and will return with your weapon shortly. If you need me, there is a button on the right wall if you need me." I glanced at the wall. There was a red button.

He left, and as soon as he did, I sparked my magic. I was desperate enough to use it.

_My magic always said yes or no, but I'm not taking no as an answer_, I thought, completely ignoring the man's advice. Aiko watched me with wide eyes. I felt my magic in my body, feeling it bubble up from the deep parts of my mind.

* * *

A thick, dark cloud appeared in my imagination. I reached my hand out, fingers straining to touch my magic, but it flinched away, wanting nothing but to be left alone. There was a dark and dangerous air to it, but I ignored the feeling, needing to use it.

My fingers reached out, and instead of moving back, the dark cloud hesitated. A thin, smoky tendril came out, inching forwards and finally touching my hand. Before I knew it, I was hit by the whole cloud, rushing forwards for use. Magic coursed through my body, and I screamed, but them the feeling was gone. It disappeared.

* * *

I opened my eyes. Aiko was beside me, and I realized that I had fallen on the floor.

"Are you okay?" she asked hurriedly.

"I'm fine." I told her, waving it away. I shook off the stiffness that shivered down my back. Aiko blinked, and then hit me on the shoulder.

"Don't you ever do anything like that again!" she cried. "You're so stupid sometimes! If it wasn't for the absorbing spells you would have been overrun by your magic and knocked out for two days!" she spun around, doing one of her fits when I did something irresponsible.

"I told you not to use magic." Mr. Servant came back, thrusting my sword through the gaps. It was just small enough. "You did not heed my advice. This cell is covered in too many magical spells to even use any. You can't even stick a finger out without getting burnt. I do not wish to see you harmed, miss, so please heed my advice."

He thought for a moment, and then added, "You must be hungry. Food will also be coming shortly." He walked out of view. I waited a few moments.

I sighed, then tried sticking my finger out of the bars. I yelped and pulled back, sucking on it, trying to erase the singed feeling. _It really did burn you if your finger went through_. I stood up and looked at the markings on the wall. That wouldn't work.

Narrowing my eyes, I unsheathed my sword, and did a long, deep mark, cutting through the tiny magic circle. For a second, it did nothing, but before my eyes the cut healed and I was shocked with a little electric buzz.

"Wah!" I stepped back, trying to rid myself of the remaining electricity. I'd suffered much worse, so it wasn't much, but the sensation still felt strange and slightly painful. Body-link magic.

"It's useless. This place is too heavily guarded." Aiko said. "I can't even fly." She tried to sprout her wings, but as soon as they popped out, there was a sucking motion, and they disappeared into the wall.

"if it can absorb magic, then it's probably absorbing the stored energy in my sword too..." I thumped onto the ground, miserable. My sword was a plain old sword.

Footsteps reached my ears. "Having some trouble?" a voice asked. We looked up.

It was the boy named Ember. He was smirking through the bars, watching our misery. His clothes were much clearer and fanciful from before, and they weren't cut up or dirty. "How does it feel to be trapped in a cage?" he asked mockingly. He was enjoying this.

I thought for a split second. "come here and find out." I shot back, annoyed. "you'll be beat up by a girl and cat."

"I have magic. You don't." He smirked, crossing his arms across his chest. "and besides. I've beaten things much worse than you two."

"and yet you got defeated by a simple boy. And his hair is _Pink_." I nodded, smiling, loving his furious expression. I just wanted to get him angry, so maybe he would come in here and do something stupid.

Someone, much older than the boy, came in. His hair was white, pulled back, and his smoky gray eyes were cruel. The man's back was very straight, like he had a pole strapped to it. He wore thick brown boots, a long sleeved gray t-shirt, and black pants. Somehow, even though Ember was wearing more fanciful clothes, the older man looked much more in charge. The boy, as soon as he saw the man, flinched.

"Ember! What are you doing down here!" the man demanded. Ember seemed to shrink away.

"I am talking with the prisoners, Father." He said meekly. I now recognized the similarities between the two. Even though the older man was in his late forties, you could see the relation.

The man glanced at us. "Hello, Kura, Aiko. It is very nice to meet you." He bowed. "My name is Damien. I hope you find everything unsurprising down here."

He was in charge. I recognized the feeling of authority.

I leapt up and pressed myself against the bars, making sure that my fingers didn't pass the limit. I hissed at him. "Who are you and what have you done with Ren?" I didn't forget the note and why I was here in the first place.

He laughed. "We weren't kidding about your childhood friend. He is alive, although just barely." He called down a guard. "Have the other prisoner brought down into this cell." He said to him, and the guard saluted before going back upstairs.

"you baited me here. You know who I am, and you know about my past. Who are you really?" my eyes narrowed.

"in a strange way, I'm related to you. I'm like your uncle." He said. I flinched, but covered it up.

"My 'uncle' is trying to kidnap me. right." I scoffed. "why do you want me? for my magic? Are you expecting me to throw my lot in with you and become a super-weapon? If you do, I think you're crazy."

"I simply wish for you to be comfortable here while we do our work." Damien said. Embers eyes flashed dangerously, but he didn't say anything.

Not soon after, another guard came down, lugging a heavyweight down the stairs. My eyes widened as the door opened, and I was too shocked to even jump for it. A body, slightly tanned, with dark hair and closed eyes, was unceremoniously dumped into our cell. Aikos eyes widened, and we completely forgot about Damien and Ember in front of us. We jumped forwards, checking the body.

I felt for a pulse, and a weak but steady beating was felt under his skin. Tears started steaming down my cheeks. _He was alive. Ren was alive! _Even though his body was cut up in many places, only recently scabbed over, I checked his pulse and _it was there_. Aiko hugged me, in relief and happiness.

"Are you satisfied now?" Damien asked us, bored. I glared at him, wiping tears from my eyes.

"Let us go." I said, standing up protectively over Ren's body. Aiko looked up.

Ember laughed. "We can't. You're essential to the FDC system." Damien nodded, then realized what he'd said and spun on him, eyes narrowed. Suddenly, there was a _crack_, and Embers head was thrown sideways. Damien had slapped him.

"YOU DO NOT TELL OUR PRISONERS OUR PLAN!" the older man roared. Ember held his stinging cheek, tearing up from the pain and nodding quickly. I finally understood why Ember had such hatred towards me. Even though he did so much to try to be seen by his father, his dad was abusive, and only turned my way.

Ember glared at me one last time, and ran upstairs, holding his cheek. Damien turned back to us.

"Now where were we?" he pondered to himself.

"What's the FDC?" I hissed at him. He kidnapped me, destroyed my home, and was abusive to his son. He didn't deserve pity. He smiled tightly.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you." He said, all traces of anger gone, "it's very important. It all depends on you, my dear." I shivered, but continued my glare. The older man calling me _dear_ was creepy. He turned sideways, about to go back up.

"I supposed Rupert will be coming back down with your food sometime soon. I better get going." He started walking, when another guard ran down the stairs.

"Sir, the—" he glanced at me and swallowed, "FDC device will be ready in three days. Waiting for your command."

Damien grinned at me. "Try and make it two. We can't have Miss Iris waiting for too long." The guard turned around and ran back up the stairs, Damien following at a walk.

* * *

**Natsus POV**

Our mouths opened in silent gasps. "So Kura's like, four hundred years old?" I demanded. Leo nodded.

Even Lucy, who came to the conclusion in the first place, seemed shocked. "Fo-four hundred?"

"Yes. Kura is four hundred years old, but she doesn't know it. Technically, she's only seventeen, since she grew much slower in the Spirit World, but her actual age would be four hundred in this world. It's like how you guys didn't grow any older during the time jump on Tenrou Island."

"So that baby that Master mentioned when he looked up the Infinity Spinner... was Kura? Before she was kidnapped?" Erza asked.

Leo scratched the back of his head. "It wasn't kidnapping... exactly... the circumstances were dire. There was reason for it."

Nothing was clicking for me. The puzzle still had too many pieces missing for me to connect. "So, Kura's four hundred years old, has a powerful magic, has met dragons..." I blinked and held my head. "Too much thinking!" I wailed.

Lucy smirked slightly. "Well, we're losing time. These people want something from her, and they're going to do anything to get it."

"We have to go rescue her." Ice pick agreed.

"We'll get her back with the tracker, but we'll need to rent a car. The train's too slow, and we can't walk." Erza added. I felt sick, but I agreed with her. We needed to get to get to Kura fast.

Leo disappeared, giving us one final salute before we ran to the nearest car rental shop.

* * *

Erza climbed into the front, attaching the magic absorber into her arm.

Lucy, in the back with me, Happy, and Ice Princess, called to the knight. "Erza, I know we all want to get there as fast as we can, but you can't use as much energy as you used in the Eisenwald mission. Give it to Gray or me before you pass out. We might need to fight at any time between now and then, so don't exhaust yourself."

"Aye!" Happy piped in. Back in the Eisenwald mission, Erza used up all of her energy powering a car like this one.

The scarlet knight smiled, looking at us from the corner of her eye. "Don't worry. I won't. I remember the consequences from last time." She turned back to the steering wheel.

Even before the car started moving, I was turning green. Just the thought of being here was making me sick. Suddenly, the car lurched, and Lucy caught me as I fell forwards. She giggled.

My stomach turned, and I put a hand on it. I stuck my head out the window, feeling like I needed fresh air or I was going to barf my guts out. "h-help meeeee..." I moaned. Lucy and Gray pulled me away from the window before I fell out, trying to breath in as much fresh air as I could.

"Oi! Flame Brain! Get your stomach together!" ice princess cried.

"I am... totally fine."I tried to straighten myself out, fighting away the motion sickness for a moment before it came back, twice as bad as before.

"Right." Lucy chuckled, and I hit her on the arm weakly. She took out one of her keys.

"Open, Gate of the Maiden, Virgo." She said, and a purple haired woman, in a classic black and white maids outfit, appeared. "Punishment now, Princess?" she asked Lucy.

Lucy blushed. Virgo was always asking for punishment, even when she did a good job. "Knock out Natsu. Preferably painlessly," She told her.

I opened my mouth to protest, 'I could do fine on my own,' but Virgo's hand shot out, dug into my scarf, and found the back of my neck. I didn't know what she did, but suddenly, everything went black.

* * *

"Natsu!"

My fist shot out, and hit something hard. The person, whoever woke me up, jerked back. I blinked and opened my eyes. Gray was beside me standing outside the car, rubbing his jaw.

"Oi! You just punched me, Ash-for-brains! What was that for?" he demanded. I felt very well rested, and I grinned.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to, Ice Pick."

He scowled. "That grin tells me otherwise."

"What grin?" I pouted 'innocently.'

"The grin you were just wearing. You're frowning now, but before you were grinning." He said.

"Are you accusing me of lying?" I demanded.

"Yes I am. What are you gonna do about it?"

I was preparing to leap on him and start another fight, but suddenly, a hand grabbed my vest, pulling Ice Pick and I out of the cart. I swallowed nervously. It was Erza.

"Breakfast is ready." She said tiredly, too tired even to stop our fighting. I looked around. We were parked at the side of an empty road, and there was a fire made. Lucy and Happy were already sitting around it.

Gray set himself down, glaring at me before going and getting his plate. There was a torch for me, since it was easier than making normal food, and I snatched it up quickly. I sucked it through my mouth like a straw, enjoying the burnt taste.

"Mmm..." Lucy glanced at me, already eating her plate. She was trying to eat as fast as she could, so we could go back to the car and get going.

"Where's the transmitter?" she asked Erza. The knight reached into the front and tossed the red device into her hands. Lucy stumbled a bit before catching the tiny device. She pressed the button, and the map of Fiore popped up.

"The cart's heading north." She told us, then pointed to the tiny red dot. It was still traveling upwards. Lucy blinked. "There are hardly any towns along this path. That means they probably have their own base."

Erza walked in. "it makes sense. They'll put themselves somewhere isolated. The cart's going fast. Really fast. It hasn't been slowing down. It's likely that their base is near the end of the road."

I didn't say anything, because when Erza and Lucy were in planning mode, it gave me headaches. The only thing I wanted to do was rescue Kura and Aiko, and punch the kidnapper's face in. Lucy nodded. "There's only desert there. It kinda makes sense that they'd be there. The cart's already past all the towns, close to the desert."

"The problem is that whoever's driving has an extreme amount of magic." Gray said.

"What about Ember? He is a Dragon Slayer. And he doesn't get motion sickness. He could probably drive really fast and for a long time." I pointed out. One of the cars that got away had Ember riding on it.

Lucy nodded. "It makes sense. If you could drive, we could use you as a power source to catch up, but whenever you get on a moving vehicle you turn sick..." she pouted. "If only we had Wendy, she could use the Trioa."

"We could pre-charge the battery before we got on." Erza said. We blinked.

"Pre-charge the battery..? You can do that?" Lucy asked, curious.

Erza requipped into her worker outfit, holding a toolbox in her hands. Her yellow hardhat gleamed in the sun, and the plastic-y bodysuit covered all her body, tucked into her boots. "We didn't have enough time to do it with the Eisenwald mission..." she went to the car and climbed into the front, "Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy. Come here."

We did as she asked. She had opened up the magic absorbing device using a screwdriver and was playing around with the wires. Lucy automatically turned wary. "Erza... are you sure that's a good idea?"

The worker ignored her, instead, her hand sticking out, trying to grab something. "An arm?" she asked.

Gray and Lucy looked at me. I shrugged, then handed Erza my arm. She strapped the Velcro wrap around my wrist. "Set yourself on fire, Natsu. We need to do this fast."

I did as she said, but instead of turning alight, I felt the magic being pumped into the machine. I was slightly fascinated. I never did this before, since I was always using my energy when I was on a moving vehicle.

I looked at the container, filling up with shiny red liquid. I wrinkled my nose. "That's what liquid magic looks like?" Lucy nodded.

"You've never done this before, Natsu, have you?" she said. Happy nodded.

"Aye! Natsus always been too sick to do this on his own. He can't drive, unless he has the Trioa, but even then, if it fades off..." he grinned. "We just don't let him drive."

Erza butted in. "a little more Natsu. We need to fill this up as fast as we can." I concentrated, setting myself alight more. The tiny device started beeping.

"Okay. That should be enough." Erza said, and unstrapped the device from my arm. I felt a tiny bit weaker, but not too much. Erza did the same to Lucy and Gray, and a little from Happy.

When she was done, she re-screwed the device together, stood up and turned back into her normal outfit. "Everyone done their food?" we nodded. Erza and the others got their stuff together, and I worked to eat the flames out. We hopped into the back.

"I'll drive." Gray said, jumping into the front seat. He strapped the Velcro to his arm.

I opened my mouth, but then the car moved forwards. Erza, luckily, saw the look on my face, and smashed my head on her breastplate. For the second time, I fell unconscious.

* * *

I woke up, but unfortunately, the car was still lurching around. My cheeks blew up.

"You're awake." Lucy said above me. My head was on her lap, and I was momentarily surprised before the sickness came back. I practically jumped out the open window, before Erza and the blonde grabbed on and pulled me back.

"You can't jump out of a car, Natsu." Lucy chuckled.

"I can and I will." I protested. "Just kill me now..."

Gray called out from the front. "Did he just try to jump out of the window?"

Erza sighed. "Yes, he did."

Lucy laughed, and I got up off her lap, sticking my head out the window like a dog. "You guys suck..." I moaned, but the insult wasn't strong. They only giggled, which made my self-pity even heavier.

"Get me off of this thing..."

* * *

**Eh, mostly travelling, and Kura in the new 'happy fun' prison cell. We finally meet the man behind it all, but what does he want with Kura? Please review! **


	14. Chapter 14

A**llo peoples! Out of ideas, so I'm just gonna say review me.**

* * *

**Fail.**

* * *

**Kuras POV**

I turned back to Ren quickly, wiping the tears off my face. He wasn't coming into consciousness anytime soon, so we looked at his wounds as best as we could. Everything was healing, but from the looks of it, some of the marks used to be long and deep. I didn't have a first aid or anything that could help heal him.

Rens face was peaceful, as if he knew we were close, and he continued sleeping without a hitch in his sleep. Ren's short brown hair was dirty, and, _no offense to him_, he smelled bad. Aikos nose was wrinkled, and she was breathing from her mouth instead from her nose. With her better senses, I knew it must have really smelled bad.

I remembered what I discovered before. When I was sure Damien and Ember left, and there was no one listening, I leaned in.

"Aiko. There's something I found out yesterday." Aiko blinked. I reached into my pocket, where Leo's golden key was stored. I felt around, but there was nothing. My eyes widened and I checked my other pockets.

"Did they take Leo's Golden Key?" I asked her, eyes wide.

She shook her head. "No, I found it in your pocket and used it as a weight to get a note to the Fairies. There was nothing left, and I didn't even know why you had it in the first place. I'm sorry."

"Well, I don't need it anyways." I sighed, but leaned in. "I can use celestial spirit magic, and I bet I could use Dragon Slayer Magic too!" I whispered happily, eyes glittering. Aikos eyes widened.

"What?" she asked. I repeated it to her.

"My spinner had four sides. The white side, the black side, the Celestial Spirit side, and the Dragon Slayer side." I explained to her. "I found out I could use Celestial Spirit magic, and the Black and White sides, so I'm guessing that I can use some sort of Dragon Slaying magic."

She blinked. "But you have to be raised by a dragon to do that."

I shrugged. "It's only a guess, anyways."

"but if Ember can use his Dragon Slayer magic around the cage, and I figure out how to use that magic, we can break our cage and get out of here!" I threw my hands up in the air, but Aiko looked at me skeptically.

"Okay... I trust your word, but there are holes in your story. Why can you use Celestial Spirit magic in the first place? And besides, doesn't Leo already have a contract with Lucy?"

I nodded. "I don't know what happened, but I was able to summon him. The only thing is I don't have the key now..." well, we couldn't use the key in here anyways, I thought to myself.

Aiko sighed. "take your best shot, I guess."

I stood up, facing the bars. I felt foolish, but I cried out, "Roar!"

Nothing happened.

I tried it again, face flaming. "Roar!" I screamed at the wall.

Still, nothing happened.

I took out my spinner, holding it in front of me. Instead of settling on one side, it was teetering around, trying to put itself between the Dragon and White side. I showed it to Aiko, who was looking at me funny. "See, it's working..!"

"I think..." Aikos mouth tweaked into a slight, mocking smile.

I focused. I let magic bubble up, [but I didn't touch it again] and screamed at the wall once again.

I didn't know what would happen, but I was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to be...

Nothing.

Aiko giggled behind me. "I'm not doubting you, but you look like such an idiot right now." my face turned another shade redder.

I sat cross-legged on the ground. I recalled Natsus fire powers. What else did he do? I held out my hand, and tried to make a Dragon Slayer _something_ appear.

I ignored Aiko, who was howling with laughter in the background. Finally, she picked herself up, wiping tears from her eyes. I grumbled under my breath. Aiko saw that I was being very serious about this, so she gave me another suggestion.

"Wouldn't your Dragon Slayer Magic be similar to your Ending Magic, if you have any? Maybe you have Ending Dragon Slayer Magic." She giggled though, taking all seriousness away from her sentence.

"I'll try." My eyebrows furrowed together and I concentrated.

"Ending Dragon's—" I thought for a moment—"um... crushing palm?" to my surprise, a tiny blue-ish ball appeared in my hands. Aiko stopped giggling, and I nearly stumbled back in surprise.

"I haven't been able to do that before." I commented, showing her the orb.

Her mouth hung open for a few seconds, and her face was one of shock. "Oh my god..."

"You can really use Dragon Slayer magic! How is that possible?" her eyes were wide, staring at the blue ball. It was glowing softly, creating a little more light for us both. The only light in here was two torches, so it was very dim lighting, but the ball blazed brighter than the fire.

I blinked, not knowing how to get rid of the little thing before someone found it. Despite me closing my eyes and wishing it away, it wouldn't budge. I shook m hand, trying to fling it away, but the orb stuck to my hand. I pouted, then aimed the ball at the ground, and the orb shot towards the floor. I shrieked in surprise, but the little thing had already zipped out of my grasp. It disappeared in a dust cloud, and then the light faded.

When the dust cloud cleared, our jaws dropped. There was a five foot hole in the ground, perfectly circular, large enough that Aiko could crawl in comfortably. Unfortunately, the hole finished with more cement, and I assumed that we were on the lowest level of Clockwork Tower. It was just a giant, useless, straight hole.

We glanced at each other, and at that moment, Rupert, the servant, came holding three plates of food skillfully. There was only a minor hesitation; then I rushed to sit over the new hole. I didn't want anyone to discover it, and luckily, he didn't notice it over the piled high plates.

"Ladies, unconscious gentleman, I have brought you some food. It is your favourites," he named each as a tiny hole appeared under the bars, only big enough to slip the food in, "for Aiko, 1 chicken leg; breaded, with a small caesar salad on the side, for Kura, ravioli stuffed with cheese and garlic bread, and for the young man, buffalo meat and mozzarella sticks." He also slipped a first aid kit.

He bowed. "I hope you enjoy your meals, and I thought that the kit would be helpful. Is there anything else I could do to be of assistance?"

"Get us out of here." I snapped. It was very uncomfortable sitting on the hole. I could feel myself sliding down it slowly, and my behind was beginning to get stuck.

He tutted. "I'm very sorry, but once again I'm not permitted to do that." He turned around and left.

I pouted, knowing that he wouldn't rebel against his 'orders.' I got my butt stuck out of the hole, and turned back to Aiko, who, to my surprise, was already scarfing down her plate.

"Aiko!" I shouted, and then snatched the already-half-eaten chicken leg out of her hands. "It could be poisoned!" I didn't trust Damien's food, even though he probably didn't make it himself. I didn't like him at all.

She realized the truth behind my words and looked down. "I'm sorry... I'm just really hungry and I wasn't thinking."

I sighed, understanding what she meant. It had been days since we ate, and it was only a small meal before. "Yeah, I know." I handed back the leg, putting it on her plate. "I don't trust their food, but since I'm so important, I don't think they'd poison my plate. It's pretty big, so I think we can share it."

She looked up. "I guess so. If they need you for this FDC system, them I think they'd let you be."

I turned back to my plate, which _was_ huge. Perfectly cooked pasta, stuffed with mozzarella cheese, was so hot and fresh it was steaming. The garlic bread was toasted and warm, glistening with butter. I split the plate into three parts, the largest for Ren if he woke up, or later, if he didn't.

I opened up the first aid while Aiko was eating her part. I dabbed rubbing alcohol onto Rens wounds and wrapped them with gauze. Most of them would make scars later, but none were too bad. They would heal. I had to drag his body over the hole, because he was the biggest thing that could cover it up in case a guard came down here.

I ate my part of the ravioli, and despite myself, it was tasty. It was really my favourite food, but I didn't know how they knew that. There were no funny tasted, indicators of poison or sleeping powder, but that wasn't a big sign. There_ was_ tasteless powder.

Aiko and I shared the garlic bread. "This kinda sucks." She said. "We now know that we could probably blast our way through the bars, but there are so many guards up there. And we don't know if we can get away. Even you can't face dozens of mages at the same time."

"Mm-hmm. And I can't do it magicless. My magic won't recuperate before that."

"Well, you can use Dragon Slayer Magic." She looked up. "But how can you? You weren't raised by a dragon..."

I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it's not even Dragon Slayer magic. Maybe it's a similar magic that took on a physical form that I've never used before."

"But that's a lot of _ifs _and _buts_. And besides, if this place is magic-unable, then couldn't have made it. Maybe you should practice before we do anything else. We need to be able to use it properly," Aiko glanced at Ren, were the hole was, "without making giant holes in the ground."

I grinned sheepishly. "I agree. And we need to make sure Rens awake before we run. I can't haul him around if we're trying to run away."

She nodded. "You should practice now."

I held out my hand, then remembered something. I reached into my pocket and grabbed the scrolls I picked up at my hideout back at Chatherville. I opened up the Dragon Slayer scroll.

_Dragon Slayer Magic is one of the rarest magic to find. The specific magic of it can vary, to whoever teaches it to the person. This magic is specifically meant to slay dragons, when the Dragon War was occurring. It was said to only be gifted to a child raised by a dragon or, in rare cases, passed on by birth. This magic allows the user to gain dragon-like abilities, including able to eat their type of magic for energy, and make the mage's element from his or her body. Of course, this magic is almost never seen, because the dragons disappeared around 300, and the magic faded completely a hundred years later._

"Maybe one of my parents was a Dragon Slayer." I pointed out to Aiko. _'Or in rare cases, passed on by birth.'_ She nodded.

"It would make sense. You don't know who your parents really are. But, do you know any Dragon Slayers old enough to have children seventeen years ago..?"

I blinked, then thought. My eyes widened and I shook my head, disgusted. "The only older Dragon Slayers I know about are Laxus and Cobra. And even then..." just the thought of it was gross. "No, I don't think so." She grinned, coming to the same conclusion that I did.

"All the first and third generation Dragon Slayers, the ones actually raised by dragons, are all too young."Aiko said, relieved.

"Maybe it's just a coincidence. Or maybe it's like, my ancestor, or something."

"So, in a way, you can use four magics." Aiko counted them off on her fingers. "Yes Magic, No magic, Celestial Spirit Magic, and Dragon Slayer Magic."

"Yeah, but does No Magic count as a magic? I mean, I have no magic, so does it count?" I grinned. It was one of those chicken before the egg questions.

"I don't know." she shrugged, but smiled back. "You should train anyways. We'll take Natsus Fire Dragon Slaying Magic as a base, I guess."

"What attacks does he do? Fire Dragons Roar, for one." I said.

"Or Fire Dragons fist." Aiko added.

"But what about eating fire? Can I do that?" I asked. It was a rhetorical question mostly. "I wonder what element I can eat?"

She blinked. "Ending Dragon... I dunno. You can't eat 'ending.' The Dragon Slayer scroll says you can eat your own element, but what's your element?

"Maybe destructive things?"

She glanced at me pointedly. "Master taught us anything can be used as a weapon, Kura. Anything could be destructive. We watched Master make a small bomb with sap, pine needles, and a rock before." I grinned at the memory. Ren, Aiko, Master, and I went outside, and he taught us a valuable lesson. Master was dead now, but at least Ren was okay. I glanced at him.

"Maybe..." I had a thought and stood up. "Fire's destructive, right?" Aiko nodded, blinking.

I went to the bars, where the torch, not too far away from the bars, was. The fire was beginning to splutter, but I pressed my face to the bars. Once again, I felt like an idiot, but I put my face as close as I could to the fire and sucked.

The fire started pulling closer, and started coming into my mouth. It wasn't hot, perhaps warm. Aiko watched, fascinated. Suddenly, I blinked, surprised with the taste, and started hacking and coughing. "Bleh!" I pulled back quickly, rubbing my tongue with my sleeve.

"You can eat fire!" she cried, me still trying to get rid of the horrible taste.

"How the hell does Natsu find fire tasty!" I demanded, quickly bending down and stuffing my mouth with ravioli. I swallowed, and it fell down my throat. The horrible aftertaste was still there.

"So we confirmed that you can eat fire, even though it tasted bad." She chuckled, watching me try to get the taste out of my mouth. "What else can you eat? You're clearly a Dragon Slayer now, but you're not a fire Dragon Slayer."

"Wendy's air magic can rip through things." She suggested. I shrugged and tried to suck air in. My lungs filled in with air, but I didn't feel it fall into my stomach.

"I don't think so." She frowned. "Fire's always destructive... so maybe the winds have to be going at high speeds."

"What about rocks? They can be destructive." My partner suggested. My eyebrows raised, but I reluctantly scooted to the cement wall. I unsheathed my sword, and cut a tiny piece from the wall, making sure I didn't touch the barrier magic circles. I picked it up.

I wrinkled my nose, but tried to chomp down on the thing in my hand. A piece came off and fell into my mouth. I crunched down hard, and reluctantly swallowed. I gagged.

"nope." I said, still silently barfing. I just ate a rock...

"What about plants?" I asked. I was fine eating a plant to test the theory.

"Sure, but how are we going to get a plant?" I glanced at the wall, where the red button to call Rupert was. I stood up and press it. "Aiko, put on your cute face, and make up a lie quickly."

She blinked then grinned.

* * *

A minute later, Rupert came down. "Yes, ma'ams? You requested me?"

Aiko, putting on her wide eyed baby look, tucking her tail between her legs and looking away shyly. It wasn't too hard for her. Already I fought the urge to comfort her and pinch her cheeks.

"Umm... I'm really sorry... but I'm kinda scared. It's too dark down here, and—" her eyes started to tear up. "I'm kinda scared of small spaces. Can... Um, you maybe get like, a plant from ou-outside... ca-cause maybe it'll make me feel better...remind me of outside... I am a flying cat after all..."

Rupert's eyes looked a little softer looking at the adorable little Exceed. "Yes, ma'am. I will go get a flower, perhaps from our garden, and perhaps I will ask the guards to bring down more torches."

He left, and I high-fived Aiko. It was the flimsiest lie ever, but her cute charm made you want to do anything for her. She grinned slyly.

"Now don't use that trick on me." I told her, tapping her nose. "Cause you're gonna have me wrapped around your little finger if you do." She grinned even wider.

A little bit later, Rupert came down again, holding a tiny gardening box, with five or six flowers inside. A guard was behind him, and the man started putting more torches on the wall and lighting them. Aiko put on her cute face again. Rupert slipped the gardening box under the hole that magically appeared, the bars shifting so the box could fit. Aiko started rushing forwards, then pulled back, looking away shyly.

"Thank y-you... so much. I mean, I'm really thankful." The guard behind Rupert looked at Aiko, and the look on his face told me he wanted to hug the little Exceed like she was a teddy bear. I shot a liquid nitrogen-cold glare at him, and he backed away nervously. Anyone here _touched_ her, and I would blow them off the planet.

"It is my pleasure, Miss Aiko." He bowed, and the guard reluctantly went up the stairs. Rupert followed.

Once they left, Aiko gave up the adorable look and went straight to the plants. She looked through them. Suddenly, she giggled. "Rupert does know that dandelions are weeds, right?" showing me the yellow flower, I giggled. Seems the servant wasn't perfect anyways. Luckily, we knew dandelions weren't poisonous, so Aiko handed it to me. The tall weed was as tall as her.

"So what do I do?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Natsu and Wendy kinda suck in their element, but Gajeel eats his steel." I put the plant on the ground, and I put myself on my stomach in front of it. I peeled a leaf off the bottom, and chewed it. It wasn't nearly as bad as fire, but wasn't on my top ten. "No for eating."

My lips formed a straw and I sucked in, and to my surprise, the plant started turning gray, and shriveling in on itself. My stomach felt fuller.

"So you can eat fire and plants, but not air or rocks." Aiko pondered.

"The air I'm not really sure about though. Maybe I'm not doing it right. I _have_ been breathing air for the whole of my life." I pointed out. She nodded in agreement.

"It does make sense. Maybe once we get out you can ask Wendy." She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. We were waiting for the Fairies, if they even came, but if they didn't, our chances were slim.

"They're coming." I said to her. "I can feel it."

* * *

**Lucy's POV**

I glanced at the transmitter. The tiny red dot had finally stopped. It was the evening right now, he suns last rays disappearing over the horizon. Kura and Aiko were about a twelve hours ride away, even at full speed. Natsu, Happy, Erza, and Gray were in the back, and I was driving nervously.

I had learned how to drive, but I didn't do it often, so my two hands were placed firmly on the wheel and I was trying to keep the fear from showing on my face. Unfortunately, I wasn't doing a good job, because Natsu, even in his sick state, noticed.

"Hey Luce! Are you okay?" he asked. His voice was slightly slurred from being knocked out so many times.

"I-I'm fine. Just driving." I called back. Luckily, it was an empty road. "You should be more concerned about you, the guy with motion sickness." I joked nervously.

"Ha ha." Natsu said sarcastically, but his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell out of view. I giggled, despite myself.

Erzas head popped out. "Natsu's right. Are you okay driving Lucy?"

There was a slight hesitation, before I said, "I just don't drive often." I admitted.

A delicate eyebrow quirked up, but her head disappeared. I continued driving.

* * *

After a while, long after my hands fell asleep, I switched places with Gray, so he could drive. I'd been driving for eight hours, with only a small thirty minute break. I flexed my hands, trying to regain blood flow, glancing to the transmitter and then outside, to the long, sandy desert surrounding us. We were nearly there, but we were going to continue walking the final distance, so we were less likely to be seen with the car, and so Natsu could walk out his motion sickness.

"We all know the plan?" Erza asked, for the thousandth time. We had to get it through Natsus and Grays, the dense ones, heads that we couldn't split apart. This could be one of our most risky and dangerous mission yet. We were outnumbered, running in open sight, and trying to get out two hostages from a very well armed building. Possibly three, I reminded myself. There was this Ren, if he was alive. Plus they could be majorly injured.

"Run in, grab Kura and Aiko, run out. No detours or unnecessary fighting." Natsu, Gray, Happy, and I said simultaneously. We'd heard it so many times that it was permanently marked in our brains.

I glanced outside again. Even though the transmitter said that we were close, within sightseeing distance, there wasn't a single building, not even a tiny cottage, around. "Erza? I think the base is hidden somehow." I said unsurely.

She blinked. "Lucy, it's right there." She pointed, and then blinked. "Oh, I forgot. I can see through Mirage Magic..." Erza shook her head. "Just focus hard right there, and in the distance, you can see a small town. Once you know it's there, you should be able to see it." Erza lost her eye once, and had it replaced with a new one with the help of a –kinda—kind witch. The new eye let her see through any mirage magic, including invisibility barriers.

I squinted, and did notice something was odd about the sand in one area. In was slightly darker, like someone just dumped sand from another desert into this one. My eyes strained, but finally, something almost wavered into view, and I blinked just to make sure what I was seeing was actually there.

It _was_ similar to a very small town. I was almost reminded of my old estate, when I was rich and younger and living with my dad, but perhaps about the size of our mansion in terms of layout. All the buildings were separate and _very_ fancy. There were arches and decorations everywhere. But what surprised me most of all was the giant clockwork tower, right in the middle.

"That's where Kura would be held." Erza said. Gray stopped the car, and immediately Natsu jumped out. We followed at a slower pace. "I'm surprised that they haven't come to get us yet."

"Yeah, I mean—" suddenly, I felt something grab onto my ankles. "Wha—"

Suddenly, I was pulled down, through the earth, before any of the others realized it. "Help me!" I cried, before I was swallowed up by sand. I was quick to react though, pulling one of my keys from my belt.

"Pen, Gae of duh Madn!" I cried, not opening my mouth in case I got dirt in it.

Suddenly, we were jolted to a stop. My kidnapper _huhed?_ before we were blasted to the side. I fell through a thick wall [that hurt] and started falling. "ahh!" I reached for Aries's key, but something caught me.

"Punishment, Princess?" a certain purple haired maid spirit said. I almost hugged her in my relief. I hopped out of her arms, looking around.

We were in a giant underground cave, with rocky walls covered in sand. The dome was high and the walls were spaced out. Other than the hole we blasted into the wall, there seemed to be no other exit.

"no punishment, Virgo." I told her, and my finger pointed to the hooded figure that was just getting up. "but GET HIM!"

"yes, Princess." Virgo disappeared in a flash, and a hole appeared in her place. The faint noise of tunneling came from underneath the ground, and then, just as she sprung out of the floor, the man jumped out of the way. His hood shifted slightly, and I saw that this man was blind. I blinked. I felt slightly guilty that I was going to hurt a blind guy, but all pitiful thought vanished when he kicked Virgo, sending her flying. Virgo landed on her feet, still standing.

Ah sh-t. This guy was better than he looked. Virgo rushed forwards, and I grabbed my FleuveEtoile. I whipped it towards him, and Virgo sent a flurry of hits. The man ducked and stepped back, just avoiding the throbbing energy of my whip, and just as quick as she could make them, he dodged Virgos blows too.

Suddenly, he counter attacked, spinning behind Virgo and placing his palm on her back. Virgo's eyes widened, then she fell to the ground. She disappeared in a flash of golden sparks, returning to the Spirit World.

"you must be Lucy Heartfilia." The man said. His red cloak came off. "my name is Clay, and I brought you here to destroy you." Clay was a muscular figure, taller than Gray and about as muscular as Natsu. His eyes were scratched over with scars, and he wore a traditional brown and white shirt and baggy brown pants. They looked native-style. His hair was darker than his skin, and very short.

"why?" I asked. I needed to know this guys motives while I trying to find a way to escape.

Even though this man was blind, he seemed very aware of his surroundings. He shrugged. "it will be the last thing you hear, so I'll tell you. We are the executioner guild, Bloody Rose. We were hired to protect the girl and kill anyone that tried to come in. He gave us your names, and we were assigned different mages to kill. You, Lucy Heartfilia, are the worst match. Your magic is inferior compared to mine." His hands moved to his sides, and suddenly, the sand around his started shifting rapidly.

"I use a powerful Lost Earth Magic. I have control over any dirt, mud, or sand around me. Your spirit was destroyed from the inside out from my powers. She will not be healing any time soon, even with her immortality." In his hands, a ball of sand appeared. It shifted, being made of sand, and my eyes widened as I realized that I should have been running.

The ball of sand rushed forwards and hit me in the stomach. I cried out in pain, and coughed something up. the little ball dissipated, leaving me on the ground, trying to regain my balance.

I thought frantically. Aries was too soft. Taurus... well, if he dodged Virgo's attacks, then he won't be hit by a giant bull. Leo? Maybe.

"Open, Gate of the Archer, Sagittarius!" I cried. The horse-man appeared.

"Moshi Moshi." Without needing any command, the horse sent a volley of arrows towards Clay. Amazingly, he ducked and swerved, managing to dodge all the flying projectiles. My jaw dropped.

Sagittarius disappeared. "I am sorry, commander." He saluted before disappearing into the Spirit World.

What was I going to do now?


	15. Chapter 15

**Allo peoples! How are you just finished editing this chapter... so~... ya. *nods head wisely.* **

**if you could have any type of magic in the Fairy Tail world, what magic would you have? i'd have... "grr..." Ice or Fire Dragon Slayer magic. [OR... KURAS MAGIC. ****_I_**** made it up, but who knows? it ****_could_**** happen.]**

* * *

**Me; I CAN'T CHOOSE BETWEEN DRAGON SLAYER FIRE OR ICE MAGIC! *starts ripping hair out.***

**Gray; Ice Magic is way cooler than fire magic. pshh... **

**Natsu; *headbuts Gray out of the way* NOT IF YOU LIKE IT HOT, ICEPICK!**

**Gray; *comes back* WHAT IF SHE LIKES IT COLD, ASH-HOLE? **

**Natsu; WHO LIKES THE COLD? Pshh... **

**Me; *facepalms.* uh, guys? **

***Natsu and Gray continue fighting* **

**Kura comes wielding her sword; SHADDUP! SHE CLEARLY SAID THAT MY MAGIC WAS BEST, SO YOU TWO CAN BUTT OUT OF IT!**

**ME; aw, nevermind... *leaves those three fighting...***

* * *

**Lucy's POV**

I glanced at the transmitter. The tiny red dot had finally stopped. It was the evening right now, the suns last rays disappearing over the horizon. Kura and Aiko were about a twelve hours ride away, even at full speed. Natsu, Happy, Erza, and Gray were in the back, and I was driving nervously.

I had learned how to drive, but I didn't do it often, so my two hands were placed firmly on the wheel and I was trying to keep the fear from showing on my face. Unfortunately, I wasn't doing a good job, because Natsu, even in his sick state, noticed.

"Hey Luce! Are you okay?" he asked. His voice was slightly slurred from being knocked out so many times.

"I-I'm fine. Just driving." I called back. Luckily, it was an empty road. "You should be more concerned about you, the guy with motion sickness." I joked nervously.

"Ha ha." Natsu said sarcastically, but his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell out of view. I giggled, despite myself.

Erzas head popped out. "Natsu's right. Are you okay driving Lucy?"

There was a slight hesitation, before I said, "I just don't drive often." I admitted.

A delicate eyebrow quirked up, but her head disappeared. I continued driving.

* * *

After a while, long after my hands fell asleep, I switched places with Gray, so he could drive. I'd been driving for eight hours, with only a small thirty minute break. I flexed my hands, trying to regain blood flow, glancing to the transmitter and then outside, to the long, sandy desert surrounding us. We were nearly there, but we were going to continue walking the final distance, so we were less likely to be seen with the car, and so Natsu could walk out his motion sickness. It was bright daylight out, which slightly concerned me in case we were seen by the enemies.

"We all know the plan?" Erza asked, for the thousandth time. We had to get it through Natsus and Grays, the dense ones, heads that we couldn't split apart. This could be one of our most risky and dangerous mission yet. We were outnumbered, running in open sight, and trying to get out two hostages from a very well armed building. Possibly three, I reminded myself. There was this Ren, if he was alive. Plus they could be majorly injured.

"Run in, grab Kura and Aiko, run out. No detours or unnecessary fighting." Natsu, Gray, Happy, and I said simultaneously. We'd heard it so many times that it was permanently marked in our brains.

I glanced outside again. Even though the transmitter said that we were close, within sightseeing distance, there wasn't a single building, not even a tiny cottage, around. "Erza? I think the base is hidden somehow." I said unsurely.

She blinked. "Lucy, it's right there." She pointed, and then blinked. "Oh, I forgot. I can see through Mirage Magic..." Erza shook her head. "Just focus hard right there, and in the distance, you can see a small town. Once you know it's there, you should be able to see it." Erza lost her eye once, and had it replaced with a new one with the help of a –kinda—kind witch. The new eye let her see through any mirage magic, including invisibility barriers.

I squinted, and did notice something was odd about the sand in one area. In was slightly darker, like someone just dumped sand from another desert into this one. My eyes strained, but finally, something almost wavered into view, and I blinked just to make sure what I was seeing was actually there.

It _was_ similar to a very small town. I was almost reminded of my old estate, when I was rich and younger and living with my dad, but perhaps about the size of our mansion in terms of layout. All the buildings were separate and _very_ fancy. There were arches and decorations everywhere. But what surprised me most of all was the giant clockwork tower, right in the middle.

"That's where Kura would be held." Erza said. Gray stopped the car, and immediately Natsu jumped out. We followed at a slower pace. "I'm surprised that they haven't come to get us yet. They could have attacked us while we were in the car."

"Yeah, I mean—" suddenly, I felt something grab onto my ankles. "Wha—"

Suddenly, I was pulled down, through the earth, before any of the others realized it. "Help me!" I cried, before I was swallowed up by sand. I was quick to react though, pulling one of my keys from my belt.

"Pen, Gae of duh Madn!" I cried, not opening my mouth in case I got sand in it. I was deep down under at this point, but Virgo could help in this situation.

Suddenly, we were jolted to a stop. My kidnapper _huhed?_ before we were blasted to the side. I fell through a thick wall [that hurt] and started falling. "ahh!" I reached for Aries's key, but something caught me.

"Punishment, Princess?" a certain purple haired maid spirit said. I almost hugged her in my relief. I hopped out of her arms, looking around. We were in a giant underground cave, with rocky walls covered in sand. The dome was high and the walls were spaced out. other than the hole we blasted into the wall, there seemed to be no other exit.

"no punishment, Virgo." I told her, and my finger pointed to the hooded figure that was just getting up. "but GET HIM!"

"yes, Princess." Virgo disappeared in a flash, and a hole appeared in her place. The faint noise of tunneling came from underneath the ground, and then, just as she sprung out of the floor, the man jumped out of the way. His hood shifted slightly, and I saw that this man was blind. I blinked. I felt slightly guilty that I was going to hurt a blind guy, but all pitiful thought vanished when he kicked Virgo, sending her flying. Virgo landed on her feet, still standing.

Ah sh-t. This guy was better than he looked. Virgo leapt forwards, and I grabbed my FleuveEtoile. I whipped it towards him, and Virgo sent a flurry of hits. The man ducked and stepped back, just avoiding the throbbing energy of my whip, and just as quick as she could make them, he dodged Virgos blows too.

Suddenly, he counter attacked, spinning behind Virgo and placing his palm on her back. something brown impaled her, emerging from the mans hand and spearing through her stomach. Virgo's eyes widened, then she fell to the ground. She disappeared in a flash of golden sparks, returning to the Spirit World.

"you must be Lucy Heartfilia." The man said. His red cloak came off. "my name is Clay, and I brought you here to destroy you." Clay was a muscular figure, taller than Gray and about as muscular as Natsu. His eyes were scratched over with scars, and he wore a traditional brown and white shirt and baggy brown pants. They looked native-style. His hair was darker than his skin, and very short.

"why?" I asked. I needed to know this guys motives while I trying to find a way to escape.

Even though this man was blind, he seemed very aware of his surroundings. He shrugged. "it will be the last thing you hear, so I'll tell you. We are the executioner guild, Bloody Rose. We were hired to protect the Ending Mage girl and kill anyone that tried to come in. He gave us your names, and we were assigned different mages to kill. You, Lucy Heartfilia, are the worst match. Your magic is inferior compared to mine." His hands moved to his sides, and suddenly, the sand around his started shifting rapidly.

"I use a powerful Lost Earth Magic. I have control over any dirt, mud, or sand around me. Your spirit was destroyed from the inside out from my powers. She will not be healing any time soon, even with her immortality." In his hands, a ball of sand appeared. It shifted, being made of sand, and my eyes widened as I realized that I should have been running.

The ball of sand rushed forwards and hit me in the stomach. I cried out in pain, and coughed something up. The little ball dissipated, leaving me on the ground, trying to regain my balance.

I thought frantically. Aries was too soft in this situation. Taurus... well, if he dodged Virgo's attacks, then he won't be hit by a giant bull. Leo? Maybe.

"Open, Gate of the Archer, Sagittarius!" I cried. The horse-man appeared.

"Moshi Moshi." Without needing any command, the horse sent a volley of arrows towards Clay. Amazingly, he ducked and swerved, managing to dodge all the flying projectiles. My jaw dropped. Sh*t

Sagittarius disappeared. "I am sorry, commander." He saluted before disappearing into the Spirit World.

What was I going to do now?

* * *

**Natsus POV**

Lucy cried out, and I made a frantic lunge to get her before she disappeared underneath the ground.

"Lucy!" we shouted.

"Help me!" she screamed, already way down under. I was about to jump in, but suddenly, the hole closed behind her. I started digging with my hands.

"there's gotta be another entrance here—" I looked up, as Erza, Gray, and Happy set themselves in stances. Four people surrounded us.

"we are Bloody Rose." The first one said. The droopy eyed boy was medium sized, tall and skinny, and wore all blue. His hair was slightly long and gray. Not old gray, but a natural colour. He was similar to Juvia with the aura that he produced.

"we are here to destroy you." The second one, a girl, said. She wore a dress, she looked younger, maybe fifteen, and was very petite and cute compared to the other three. Her startling pink eyes though said otherwise, staring at us menacingly underneath her hood. Her hair was pristine white.

"these will be the last words you will ever hear." The third man boomed. He was big, and had dark skin. He wore traditional red native clothing, decorated with white beads and such. His hair was cut short.

The last one, a small boy, maybe nine, had similarities to the second girl. He grinned, and looked very innocent, but –usually—the innocent ones were the worst. He wore shorts and a blue top, with a pair of wings printed on them.

I stood up and put myself into a stance. These guys produced a large amount of magic power.

The little innocent one piped up. "hi!" he said adorably. "I'm really sorry for the pain we're about to cause you, but sissy says I gotta get the cat." He waltzed up to Erza and held up his hand. He waited for a second, and Erza got a tic in her eye, not knowing whether she should shake it or not. Eventually, she did, although reluctantly.

He smiled a brilliant grin. "my name's Eric." He hopped back up to his spot.

Everyone stood there awkwardly. His sister, the tiny one, finally spoke and sighed. "anyways, since my little brother ruined our act, might as well give it up. I'm Roxanne." She said, shifting a little.

"my name is Walter." The droopy eyed one said.

"my name is Ash." The third man boomed.

"we're Bloody Rose!" Tiny Eric cried, shooting his finger into the air. He giggled. Everyone looked at the tiny kid and sweatdropped.

"anyways, let's just skip the 'we're gonna kill you' and stuff and just get on with it." Roxanne said. We only had time to register her words before the girl tripled, no, quadrupled, and jumped forwards. We sprung away, needing to separate for the moment, so we didn't get hit. Each one of us got a different mage. I got Walter.

"give me back Lucy." I growled. I didn't know what magic he did, but I was ready to beat him into a pulp for taking my nakama.

"Your Heartfilia is with Clay. I don't know, but he's probably just washing his hands off of her blood now." what he said made my anger rise. I shot forwards, and punched him square in the face. What should have been a direct hit just melted into his face. He grinned, even though my fist was embedded between his eyes.

"Water Body; Closure." Suddenly, I couldn't pull my hand out. I tried to flame it, but my hand wouldn't obey me. this boy had a water body like Juvia.

My foot started flaming, and I tried to kick him. it was really hard with my arm stuck like that, and his just moved a little to dodge it. I punched him with my other arm, and it got stuck too.

"damn it!" I cried out. Walter grinned, even though I couldn't really see his face anymore, I could tell.

"Water Nebula!" I was shot backwards by a torrent of water, which at this close and at such a high pressure, threw me back. I could move my hands now, but they did me no good against the water that covered me completely. I tried to stand, but was just blown back again.

"argg!" I opened my mouth to roar, but it just filled with water instead. I spat it out, but the water suddenly forced its way back and down my throat. I was choking.

I clutched my throat. "Fire D-Dragons Roar." I tried to burn the water, but nothing more than a spurt of flame came out.

Finally, the water pressure left and I could breathe again. I gasped in air, trying to get something in my lungs. Walter stood there, a small smile on his face. How badly I wanted to smash it in... I stood up shakily, glaring at Walter. Lack of air wasn't going to stop me.

"have you had enough?" Walter asked. I shook my head. He pointed behind me. "if you get your friends to surrender and leave, we'll let you live, you know." I looked behind me. the others were having the same problems I was. Erza was fighting Roxanne, but she wasn't moving. Her eyes were wide, but she didn't move, even when six Roxanne's sent a flurry of tiny blows at her. she seemed incapable to do anything. Gray was fighting Ash. Ash was a fire mage, and even though Gray had plenty of experience with me, he was losing ground. Little Eric had spout wings and was chasing around Happy, giggling as the little blue Exceed tried to get away from him.

"they'll beat you." I told him. "I have confidence. They won't give up."

Walter smiled sadly. "well, this desert will be your death bed then." Suddenly, he jumped forwards. For such a skinny guy, he was fast. I dodged the blows sent at me, not wanting to get trapped again. finally, he stopped.

I needed to beat this guy! I thought. he was stopping me from getting Lucy- and Kura and Aiko. I was sure that she could handle herself, but of course I was worried for her.

My eyes caught where Walter once stood. Where his feet once were, it was slightly wet. The sand had turned into mud. Suddenly, I had an idea.

"Fire Dragons Breath!" I cried. Walter smirked, but then frowned when I aimed it at the ground, making it simmer with heat.

"what are you doing?" he asked, curious. The wet standing spot had disappeared, evaporating in the air. I grinned, not answering his question. He scowled and attacked, hands turning to water and aiming for me. But the heat around us made the attack nearly useless. I grinned.

"I can't use fire on you, but any time you try and attack me, you'll evaporate." I said. He scowled.

"Not a problem." He said. "I'll just finish you off quickly. Water Nebula!" a blast of water, too big to evaporate all at once, came from out of his hands. It hit me, not doing much damage, but effectively wetting the ground. I growled.

Suddenly, the ground and moisture shifted, forming a pile. I blinked and watched it curiously, analyzing it as the pile became taller and skinnier. When the work was done, I blinked. It was another, dirtier copy of Walter.

"Meet Walter two." Sad-eyed Walter looked at his handiwork. "Not bad." He congratulated himself.

"What's he do?" I asked. I was prepared to fight both Walters if need be. Water Walter glanced at me.

"Walter two won't last long, but he uses Earth Magic. Through my controlling and his earth-slash-water body, I can make him do this." His hand shot out and Walter Two disappeared.

"Huh?" suddenly, a hand shot out and grabbed my ankle. It was wet. I cried out as I was swallowed by the earth.

* * *

**Lucy's POV **

What was I going to do now?

Clay sent another sand object at me. The sand gathered up, and became a giant, lifelike snake. My eyes widened as it slithered towards me. I grabbed one of my keys quickly, but suddenly, it coiled up, and struck.

I only managed to move out of the way just in time, enough that the bite only hit my right shoulder instead of my neck. "Op—" I was cut off and I screamed as the snake bit deeper. The snake refused to let go, until Clay finally snapped his fingers. I fell to the ground as the snake dissipated.

I panted into the ground. _Was I gonna die here?_ I asked to myself. My hand clutched onto my shoulder and was coming off red. Every time I moved, little grains of sand embedded in the wound shifted and I flinched.

"Have you had enough yet?" he said. I managed to put myself up on my knees. "I'm just playing with you, Heartfilia. If you surrender now, I will bring you to the surface and watch as you and your friends leave. You cannot hit me, so why do you continue trying? This will be your deathbed if you continue on. I'll have no hesitations." Clay told me.

"I will explain to you why I will be victorious. A long time ago, I was punished for something that I did. These people that I cheated got me back. They managed to scratch out my eyes, leaving me blind. But my Earth Magic helps me. I can sense tiny changes in the earth or air, allowing me to know exactly where everything is. Nobody, since then, had been able to hit me. You, a young girl, will not be able too."

"I will hit you, even if it's the last thing I do." I promised him. I couldn't lose. I needed to get to the surface and help save Kura.

I stood up on my feet, putting my key in my left hand.

"Open, Gate of the Ram, Aries." A fluffily clad girl appeared. She had pink hair with little curling horns.

"I'm sorry. What can I do for you?" the adorable little girl whimpered.

"Help me patch up this wound." she created a thick sheet of pink cotton and quickly wrapped it around my arm. It was done in seconds. "We need to defeat this guy." I told her, grabbing another one of my keys.

"Open, Gate of the Twins, Gemini."

Two tiny floating dolls appeared, wearing orange and green shorts. "What..." "Can we..." "Do for you?" they asked.

"Copy Clay." I pointed to the man tiredly. "And Aries, distract him." Aries nodded solemnly.

"Are you okay, Master?" she asked, pouting.

I nodded, smiling faintly at her. "I'm fine."

Suddenly, Leo appeared. I was slightly surprised, because I didn't summon him. Leo could pop up into the Human World on his own, but it still didn't do anything to stop being scared out of my wits. "I will help you defeat Clay." The ginger said, pushing his glasses up more.

"thanks." I swooned a little, and Leo caught me. I pushed him away quickly. All my spirits looked at me in concern.

"Lucy, you shouldn't summon more spirits after this." Leo told me. I shrugged the idea off.

"I need to get back to the surface after beating this guy. We're saving Kura, and I'm not letting this guy stop me."

Leo opened his mouth to protest, but shut it, knowing it was a waste of air. He blinked and looked up. "Wha..?"

The wall cracked, and Natsu fell from the ceiling, shouting about "stupid Walter Two—" Aries, quick thinking, made a large, cottony landing for him. Natsu got up quickly, jumping off before something brown followed him. It looked suspiciously like a person.

"KYAAAA! Walter Two, GET OVER HERE!" Natsu raced towards the brown thing, not realizing that there was a battle taking place behind him. Clay, Aries, Leo, Gemini, and I looked at the Salamander.

"Who's Walter Two?" I asked Leo. He shrugged.

Natsu was trying to punch in Walter Twos face, but the brown lump slithered around, dodging the attacks and finally being backed up into a rocky wall. Walter Two backed up and dissipated.

Natsu spun around, grumbling about 'Stupid Walter and Walter two—" before he noticed me. "LUCCCCYYYYYYY!" he ran up and hugged me.

"You're okay!" he cried, while I said 'owowowowowowowow!' in the background.

"Natsu, let go!" he did, only noticing now the shape I was in. I held my shoulder. His hugs, that usually crushed me on a normal day, felt like burning acid right now. Luckily, he didn't shift Aries' fluff around to much, but the recent assault had hurt.

His face turned dark. "who did that to you?" he demanded. I sweatdropped and pointed behind Natsu, where Clay was standing silently. His hands caught fire. "I am gonna beat you to a pulp for hurting Lucy." He told him, rushing forwards. I tried to tell him that punching the mage was a very bad idea, but he was already there.

Clay sidestepped Natsu, and then elbowed him, right between the shoulder blades. It wasn't a painful move, but Natsu, off balance already, dropped like a rock.

Clay smirked. "Natsu Dragneel. I know all about you. Your Fire Magic won't do anything against my Earth Magic either. I offered to fight you, but Walter wanted to, so I took Heartfilia." He shrugged, then a droopy eyed boy [I assumed he was Walter,] literally dripped from the ceiling, like water, landing on his feet. Natsu rolled over, jumped up, launching himself at Walter, but an earth pillar hit him in the stomach and sent him flying into me. I oofed, and then we quickly scrambled off of each other, standing up. Brown Walter had disappeared.

"So Clay... you were down here?" Walter asked. Clay nodded.

"Should we defeat them together?" the younger one said. Clay nodded again.

Walter grinned. "Plan 24?" Clay nodded. [A lot of nodding goin' on with this guy.]

"Water cyclone!" Walter cried. The whole ground filled with water. Natsu gulped.

"Not again..." I looked at him, startled. Should there be something I should be worried about?

Clay put his hands together, and the combined sand and water started to shift. Ah crap. Slowly, the mud came together, forming into a pile, climbing higher and higher. My height, Gray's height, both of us combined together, a small house... it continued growing bigger and bigger, until the pile was the height of a tree. Then, the mud started moulding itself, into a giant—

Bird.

It was a giant brown hawk, glaring at us with its beaky brown eyes, wings spread out, taking up the whole cave. Its taloned foot crashed down, and I pushed Natsu out of the way before we got crushed. Its feathers were roughly made, but the shape was clear. We stared up at the giant bird. Suddenly, out-of-the-blue on our possible death beds, I remembered something.

"Did I forget to mention that it was my birthday today?" I told Natsu. His pink hair whipped around and he stared at me.

"Wha..? Really? It was your birthday and you forgot to tell me?" he demanded.

"Just thought it would be nice to tell you sometime. I completely forgot with everything going on."

Walter, on the other side of the giant hawk with Clay, cried out. "Shouldn't you be more concerned about your impending death?" he demanded.

I turned to him and shrugged. "Just a thought."

Natsus hands went on fire. "Hey Luce? I say we beat the living crap outta these two." As a second thought, he added, "and then go celebrate your birthday. FairyTail style."

I nodded. even though I was low on magic, "Open, Gate of the Goat, Capricorn!" I cried. An upwards standing goat [with abs] appeared. He put himself into a stance next to Leo. "you can go Aries. Thank you so much for helping." The fluffy woman disappeared, but Gemini did not.

"Distract the giant bird. We'll get Clay and Walter." I commanded. We ran forwards, and the hawk let out a piercing shriek. It stepped down, narrowly missing us, but Natsu pushed me aside. The pointy talon c-l-i-p-p-e-d his leg. While the bird's attention was on us, my two spirits jumped forwards, distracting it again and making the hawk turn on its attackers. Gemini followed us.

"Natsu!" I cried, pulling him away from the giant talons.

"Are," "you," "okay?" Gemini asked in their creepy monotone.

He stood up, the cut not stopping him. "I'm fine. Don't let it stop us." I was worried for him, especially because it was my fault, but I knew he'd suffered worse before.

I pouted, but turned to Walter and Clay, who were controlling the Water Earth Magic bird. I grabbed my FleuveEtoile. I didn't really have any magic left in me, keeping all these Gates open, so it was just a regular whip in my hands. Still, it could do a lot of damage, I reminded myself.

"I'll take Walter, you take Clay." I said. His fire magic wouldn't do good against the Water mage, and he could do more than I could against Clay. We charged.

"Gemini, copy Walter!" I commanded. The two dolls floated forwards, and the droopy eyed boy turned himself into water, trying to dodge Gemini's hands. I whipped my FleuveEtoile forwards him, but it went straight through the boy. He grinned, but in his distraction, Gemini stretched out and touched Walters shoulder. There was a _poof!_ And another Walter appeared.

Walter/Gemini smiled at real Walter. Real Walter suddenly got a tic in his eye.

"That's pretty weird." He commented. Gemini grinned one last time, before Walter started doing a funny dance, turning watery transparent. "What's happening!" he demanded. I blinked. what _was_ happening to Walter?

"Your abilities are the same as ours. We control Water, and your body is made of it. We control you." Gemini waved his/her finger and Walter started to do the chicken dance. It made sense now. Gemini and I giggled, watching our enemy doing the funny movements. The giant Earth Water hawk behind us began to dry up, its movements becoming slower, and every time Leo or Capricorn kicked or punched it, pieces fell off. Finally, the bird crumbled to dust.

"Nice one, Gemini."

I closed Capricorns gate and continued watching Walter, amused. "Arg!" Walter cried. "I know you can't keep your spirits Gate open forever, Heartfilia! Gemini can't control me then!" My lion Spirit came and joined me.

"Make Walter solid." I told Gemini. They obliged, and Walters eyes widened.

"Leo, knock him out." Leo stepped forwards menacingly, and then there was a startled cry from Walter. I didn't stay and watch though, already going to help Natsu. Gemini disappeared.

Natsu and Clay were in a fierce battle, the Dragon Slayers hands aflame, shooting bursts of flame at Clay again and again. Clay seemed unaffected though, creating Barriers of sand and blocking his attacks, creating pillars of dirt to stop Natsu. The fight was spectacular, until—

Clay raised his arm, and the sand around him started to ripple. It was waves and waves of sand, but not high or powerful enough to really _do_ anything. I balanced myself on a wave. I didn't get it, until I saw Natsu. The waves were bouncing him up and down, activating his motion sickness. Natsu tried to step forwards, but then his face turned green and he collapsed. Clay rose up on an unmoving pillar, jumping down, using Natsu as a softener for his landing, then lifting him up by his precious scarf.

I facepalmed, [stupidest way to get beaten,] then pulled my whip back to strike. It was my turn to save Natsu. I jumped on one of the waves, and ran along it, trying to stay on balance. Natsu turned to me, looking like the sorriest puppy in the world. "Lucy... Help..." I lashed with my whip, and Clay jumped back, avoiding getting hit, still holding Natsu. I didn't have any more Magic to spare, and Leo had gone back to the Spirit world to recuperate. My whip was useless against this mage, and Natsu was too busy being sick.

Crap.

Clay lifted his free hand, and I only had a split second of confusion before a pillar came in fast and hit me in the gut. I howled in pain. Another and another came in and hit me, and I cried out each time. Finally, they stopped. I choked out saliva mixed in with something red, shuddering for a breath of fresh air, even though it hurt to breathe.

I got up, but it was hard because of my pained body and the slow, sloping waves. I watched Clay carefully. Natsu was watching, but was struggling to get out of the mages grip. Finally, Clay dropped him on the ground, disgusted.

Natsu nearly collapsed, but he rode on the wave until he reached me. Clay didn't do anything to stop him, just standing there in his own little safe bubble. The Dragon Slayer crawled up to me, almost fainting from the effort. I picked him up, but it was hard because he was mostly deadweight.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, concerned. No, he was not okay, and I wasn't either, we both knew that. He did a miserable little pout and grabbed my wrist weakly. "wha-" It glowed red, and I nearly stumbled back from shock, almost dropping Natsu. Soon, Natsus eyes rolled back to his head and he really did collapse. his body rode on another wave further away from Clay and I

I didn't get what he did... I stard at my wrist, wondering what he just d-

_Oh my god. _

I was flooded with the sudden urge to run around, feeling like I drank twenty coffees and was ready to explode. out-of-th-blue, I burst into giggles, which escalated into laughing. Natsu gave me his magic. Or at least some of it, but I finally understood why he was so hyper. I was prepared to leap for the moon, or fly to the other side of the world. _Holy crap, how did Natsu hold it in? _If this was only a part of his magic...

I shook it off and grinned, taking one of my keys from my belt. "You are so gonna regret ever trying to kill me." I told Clay. The mage didn't look impressed. I ran next to unconscious Walters body.

"Open, Gate of the Water Bearer, Aquarius!" I cried, slashing the key in front of me. I could only summon Aquarius with Water, and Walters Water body was good enough. the teenage mermaid appeared.

"Whaddu' want?" she snapped. "It hasn't been a week yet, has it?" she was talking about the vacation I unwillingly gave her back at the Guild. I had a plan, forming randomly in my mind, and I was sure it was gonna work.

I was giddy enough to ignore her sharp words. "Yes, Aquarius, it has been a week, and besides, I wanted to tell you that that guy said you were a bratty, teenage, loser, who probably was the biggest brat in all of Spirit World High school." I was on a role. "You're a terrible dresser, and your fish tail looks really stupid. He also said that your boyfriend probably's a girl too." I was pulling insults from the top of my head, but it worked. Aquarius turned to Clay, eyes flashing dangerously. She grabbed her urn.

first thing I learned about the teenage mermaid. never insult her or her boyfriend. that is probably the worst thing you could ever say close to her, and if you chose your words right, you could outsmart her. Behind her back, I grinned like an idiot. Aquarius lifted her basin, shouting a fierce battle cry, and a torrent of water flooded out, swamping over Clay. Luckily, Aquarius was in a good mood today and didn't swamp Natsu or me with it.

Finally, after a minute or two, the water receded, leaving Clay gasping on the ground. Before he could recover, I poked him.

"Got 'cha." I grinned, and then Lucy Kicked his head hard. He collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

"Boo ya! Who's the best, who's the best..!" I cried into the empty cave. It was full of people, but nobody was actually there to hear me. I let myself a moment of peace before I picked up Natsu, shaking him awake. "Natsu... Natsu... NATSU!" I cried. I put some of his magic back, but keeping enough of it so I could summon one more spirit.

He still didn't wake up, so I slapped him. "NAAAATTTTSSSSUUUU!" I wailed. "WEEEE HAAAVVVEEEE TOOOOO GOOOOOOO!" I wailed. Finally, he woke up, springing awake.

"Where's Clay?" he asked woozily. He held his head.

"You gave me a boost, and then I defeated him." I told him. An impatient _hrm_ was snorted behind me. I sweatdropped. "Okay, _Aquarius_ defeated him." with a final snort, the mermaid disappeared.

Grabbing one more key, I shouted, "Open, Gate of the Maiden, Virgo." The maid appeared, looking tired. I didn't like using her right after she was injured, but we couldn't get back to the surface without her.

"Virgo, I'm really sorry, but we need your help getting to the surface. Could you dig a hole up? just the hole, please." I didn't want to work her more than I had to.

A few minutes later, we had a big hole pointing upwards. We could just see the sky from the bottom. "if that is all you need, Princess, I will be taking my leave." She bowed and the disappeared. _Wow..._ I thought. _No punishment?_

"Am I gonna have to climb?" I asked, mostly to myself. Natsu shook his head.

"I'll do it." _I_ shook my head.

"No, I'm doing it. You were just knocked unconscious."

"I'm doing it cause you were just beaten to a bloody pulp."

"Natsu, I'll climb the stupid hole." I told him. He disagreed though.

"I'm climbing the hole." He argued, but then Erza's and Gray's face popped into view above us.

"Hey!" Gray shouted. "Need a hand?" he asked, throwing down a rope. Natsu and I looked at each other funnily. I sighed and started climbing up.

When we got to the top, I looked around. Roxanne and Ash were unconscious on the ground, and little Eric was kinda in his own little world, hovering over his sister. Eventually he flew off, flying towards the tower. Erza and Gray were covered in scratches and burn marks.

We spun around as a giant beam of blue light burst through one of the walls of the giant tower. We all gasped. "What the hell was that?" Natsu demanded. Nobody knew the answer though, so we ran forwards, all hoping nothing bad happened to our friends.

* * *

**Hrmm... I don't know. I'm kinda new at FanFiction... is it normal to have this many reviews and follows? ... aw, whatever. I'm just posting... stuff. But I REALLY want to know what you guys think. Is my writing bad? Good? Okay? Any improvements you can think of? **

**Anyways, I realized that I'm now catching up with my typing, and I only have a couple 5 thousand words separating it. *shrugs" whatever. I'm also trying to work on my newest one-shot, Grays Revenge, so I can get that over and done with. **

**Review, or I'll take Natsus scarf, dye it black, and tell him that you did it! **

**Happy; Aye! **

**Natsu: wait, WHAT!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Allo! so, how's it so far? I started editing this chapter this morning, but completely lost track of time and looked up as I realized that my bus would come in five minutes. whoops. well, I still made it with plenty of time, so i'm okay. also, I COMPLETELY forgot to add the disclaimer at the beginning. people, I DO NOT own Fairy Tail! [I wish, but then FT wouldn't be as awesome.] *sighs.* **

**ALSO! lets celebrate the one hundred pages! WHOO! this story is now a little over 103 pages. [and honestly, I was planning for it to be a short, maybe 20pg work...whoops again.] well, I'm really proud of it! Please review, and tell me how I'm doing so far!**

* * *

**Kuras POV **

It was that morning when Ren had finally woke up. Aiko and I were practicing my all new Dragon Slayer magic, when I heard a slight twitch behind her. When I noticed Ren's body shifting, I scrambled next to him.

He coughed and hacked for a moment, and then his dark eyes opened slightly. "K-Kura? Aiko?" he said shakily.

We squealed like absolute girls and hugged him, tears streaming down our faces. He got up on his hands, trying to adapt to the assault. "Ah- okay, okay! I missed you guys too. Now what's going on!" he grinned, though, flashing his teeth. He was glad to see us too. Ren had circles under his eyes and was obviously in dull pain, but the thing was that he was _alive._

"Oh god." I sat back, relieved and shocked at the same time, watching him closely in case he disappeared again. "It's really you."

"Well who else would it be? Jason the _Sorcerer Weekly _guy?" he suggested. I grinned wider. If he was good enough to make jokes, he was fine. More tears started forming in the corner of my eyes.

"No, I meant..." I blinked slowly, and before I knew it, had fallen forwards into his chest. I hugged him tightly. "I-I thought y-you had died, Ren." I stuttered. I was slightly startled when I felt strong arms wrap around me. I cursed myself again for crying like a baby. The arms held me close, and then reached for Aiko to join the hug. She squeezed Ren's thigh.

"I missed you guys to. They told me, everyday, what you were doing and where you were. They said that they were close on your tail, closer and closer..." I felt him shake his head. "I was really worried for you guys."

"But Aiko protected my best bud, didn't she?" he joked, petting her head. I 'hey'ed in protest and pushed away from them, smiling.

"you know I can take care of myself, Phoenix. But of course, Aiko did help though." I added. She grinned, wiping tears from her eyes.

"it was mostly you Kura. We both know that." The purple Exceed said.

Ren grinned, but then frowned as he began to sink lower into the ground. He pulled himself out of the hole I made. "uh, what's this?" he asked. I ducked my head sheepishly.

"there was- I, uh... there was a hole and we needed to cover it."

"so you used me?" Ren smiled, shaking his head. "it's great to be back together again, but where's everyone else?" he asked. Aiko and I registered the question and our shoulders slumped. the happy atmosphere turned sad.

Aiko and I glanced at each other. Neither of us wanted to tell him the news. I told him. "R-Ren? Our friends at the Church, and Master... they're dead. It's just you and us left." He looked stunned.

"E-everyone?"

I nodded. "At first we thought you were dead too, but we got the bait-note and then they kidnapped us. Then we were brought here. They must have carted you away before—before..." I couldn't finish my sentence. I had done something horrible.

"the explosion." Aiko finished for me half-heartedly.

"what explosion? They knocked me out and I was dragged into a prison cart then found myself here, but what about an explosion?" his eyes went wide.

I looked down, bitter. "You know about my magic. When Master was killed in battle, I was so angry that it flooded out, creating a giant explosion that took out everything within a three kilometer radius. Including people. I killed the attackers, but it took out our friends too. It just stopped at Chathersville."

"There was nothing left."

Ren leaned back on the wall, holding his head. "I only knew the parts the guards were talking about. I didn't know the extent of the damage..."

"yeah." I bit the inside of my cheek. "But we're getting out of here alive." I explained my plan to Ren.

"It makes sense." He said, after I was finished. "So, we just wait, for now?" I nodded, turning back to the sickly looking flowers from yesterday. Ren scooted to watch.

I took another flower from the sickly looking plants and plopped it on the ground. I sat, cross legged, and sucked in the energy from it, so the flower withered, crumbling in on itself.

Ren interrupted. "You look funny when you do that." He commented. I turned to look at him.

"Huh?"

"I mean, your face goes all..." he searched for the right word, "concentrate-y. Like it takes a big effort to... eat stuff."

I shrugged. "You got a crappy, inexperienced Dragon Slayer. Deal with it." I finished eating, [trying to keep my face straight.] I created an orb between my fingers, a glowing light. It was the consistency of a thick, unpoppable bubble in my hands, but it would blow up whenever it touched anything else. I grinned. I would not go down without a fight, and I wouldn't leave without Ren and Aiko.

* * *

A couple hours later, Rupert came down. To my surprise he wasn't holding a plate of food. "Madam?" he asked. "You are required to come to the highest part of Clockwork Tower and activate the FDC device." Unsheathing my sword, I stood my ground. Ren didn't have any weapons, but he was skilled in hand-to-hand combat. He jumped up, placing his hands in a protective stance. Aikos fur was bristling and her claws came out.

Rupert sighed, like he was used to this kind of thing, and several guards came downstairs, opening the door quickly and hastily pulling me out of the cage. I cried out, not wanting to use my magic just yet. It was still surprising though. Ren and Aiko were held back from me, but they hit, kicked, and scratched everything that they could.

A gag was shoved into my mouth and I was held by several powerful grips. My sword had been dropped in the cell, so I had no weapon other than my magic and my own body. I felt the aura around the guards; they felt like mages.

We climbed up the stairs, into the fancy entrance. I blinked at the light; I hadn't seen a bright light since what had seemed forever. We climbed up the fancy, plush, red-carpeted stairs, and then climbed another, plainer set, and another, and another. Most of the guards were grumbling about how they should be able to take the elevator, but they climbed anyways. Soon, we got to a thick, giant door, at the top of the tower.

Now!

I let my magic cover my body. The guards stumbled back when their hands started burning. Many cried out, and I landed with a heavy thud on the ground, the particular stair I'd landed on sticking up between my shoulder blades. I cried out, but quickly stood up on my feet. I ran, scaling the stairs, pushing past confused guards until I was on the top one and pulled out the gag.

"Ending Dragons Dark Roar!" I cried, and a beam of blue magic blasted from my mouth, swamped over the men and crashed through the wall. When the light finally faded, there were no traces of the guards, clothing or even ashes.

I stepped forwards to the giant wooden door, but almost swooned a little. I held onto the wall for moment before I regained my composure. _Holy crap, did I go overboard?_ I asked myself woozily. I shook it off. I still needed to save Aiko and Ren downstairs.

My hand flung out, and a bright blue orb flew out, making the door explode. I walked through.

"What a surprise." Damien, already waiting with Ember, said. "Seems we have a runaway."

"Oh, give it up!" I cried. "I may be outnumbered but you are way too underpowered to beat me. Tell me what the hell is going on or I'll blast you off the freakin' planet." I threatened, putting my hands out in front of me.

"No need, no need." He said. Ember waited impatiently behind him. "I was going to tell you anyways before you activate the FDC device." He indicated the large, gray machine behind him that I only just noticed. The FDC was a computer-like machine, nothing special, but on the side, connected, was a big, clear, sphere with wires and tubes connected to it.

"You may want to sit down." Damien told me. "This is going to be surprising."

* * *

** Natsus POV**

We burst inside the doors, startling several mages and beating them up in the next second. We ran upstairs. It was eerily quiet. Erza was beside me, and Lucy and Gray were following behind.

When we reached the top, we realized that the door didn't need crashing-open. There was a giant hole blasted in the door, big enough that someone as big as Clay could easily get through. We saw Kura, Ember, and an older man standing not too far away. "-to be surprising." The older man said. Kura spun around at our arrival.

"Erza, Gray, Lucy, Natsu!" she cried. Sending a hesitant glance at the two enemies, she ran to us.

"So... uh, do you need saving?" IcePick asked sheepishly. Since she wasn't bound or being tortured, being perfectly fine over here, we were wondering what was going on.

She turned back to Ember and Old Guy. "Erza, Gray? Ren and Aiko are downstairs in the basement. They're being held in a cell. I need to make sure they're safe, but I have to beat answers out of a certain someone." She sent a pointed glance at Old Guy, cracking her knuckles.

Erza blinked. "If that is what you wish... are you sure you three are okay on your own?" she asked, looking at me, Lucy, and the purple haired mage. Kura nodded.

"Trust me. It'll be fine." She said. Sending one more cautionary glance behind them, Gray and Erza ran back downstairs.

Kura marched right up to Old Guy. She was shorter than he was though, making it look kinda comical. "now tell me." she hissed. "Why the hell have you been after me for so long and what the hell do you know about me, Damien?"

'Damien' chuckled. "who are your parents, Kura?" I blinked at the sudden question. What did that have to do with anything?

He spun around and walked up to a strange, computer-like device on the side of the room. It had a large sphere connected to it. "The FDC device stands for Full Dimension Control Device. F-D-C." He started. "Your parents are why you can power it, and _only_ you. Anima is gone now, and so are the dragons, so the slightest possibility that it so happens again is almost non-existent." _What was he talking about? _

Kura asked the same question. "What are you talking about?"

He decided to ignore the question and start off with something else. "The reason why you can't remember anything from your childhood is because the Celestial Spirits and the Dragons wiped your memory." She flinched. "Because you weren't born seventeen years ago, Kura Iris."

"You were born four hundred years ago." Lucy piped up quietly beside me. Kura spun around, eyes wide and pleading.

"w-what?"

Damien nodded his head. "So you Fairies found out. Good. You don't know the entire story though. About ten years ago in Edolas, King Faust ruled there. You know him, right, Fairies?" he flashed a grin and I felt a flash of anger. Faust was an evil, loopy man who tried to kidnap us all to become a power source for his magic-dead world. "Well, anyway, King Faust ruled. At first, no one had problems with him. But, of course, when the Anima was first created, some people didn't agree. Like your mother, and my wife."

"Trying to get away from the world she hated, she left without leaving a note, sneaking past the guards and using the Anima to transport herself into this world. Of course, the Anima still had some problems though, and spat her into the past. The distant past. Four hundred years ago."

"She managed fine on her own though. She became a mage, a Celestial Spirit mage to be exact, and joined a guild. We Edolas people can't use Body magic, only Holder magic, because it is impossible for our blood to make our own power. Everything went well, she was a peasant living in northern Fiore, but everything took a turn for the worst when she was... fancied by a young man wearing fanciful clothes. She did not know that the man was a sinister beast, who enjoyed killing dragons every spare moment he got."

"_One Dragon Slayer was famous for bathing in the blood of dragons, and was said to turn into a dragon himself." _It sounded like a quote, but I didn't know from what book. Kura, on the other hand, understood immediately. She stumbled back. "Acnologia, the Energy Dragon Slayer. Unfortunately for your mother, she became a prisoner of the Dragon Slayer, but her beauty attracted him, and two years later, they had a child. There are no books about it, as the Black Dragon Slayer kept it a secret."

Kura paled. "But—this was four hundred years ago. I'm only seventeen. Right?" she spun on us, tears in her eyes. We lowered our heads.

Tears started flowing down her face and she screamed. "I don't know what to think any more."

Damien seemed unfazed. "Let me continue. You were born, but your... unstable blood destroyed many things. Celestial Spirit magic, Energy Dragon Slayer magic, Edolas and Earthland blood... You made a giant crater in eastern Fiore, which has grown over by now. Shortly after your birth, Acnologia turned into a Dragon. The real dragons though knew once you grew up, you would be a threat to dragon kind, possibly used as a weapon by Zeref, so they kidnapped you and gave the baby to the Celestial Spirits."

"Why do dragons seem so intelligent about life? Because Dragons have their own world. Unlike us, they can cross the barrier whenever they wish. Time in their world is much slower too, so they have much more time to learn about the universe, more than our short human lifespan could ever do. Instead of taking you in their world, they dropped you into the Celestial Spirits arms. They would come visit you every once in a while, but when they deemed you not a threat, they dropped you off at the nearest building and rid their hands of you. The end."

"Kura Iris, you have powerful blood in you, and the power of four worlds."

Kuras lip quivered. "What do you h-have to do with all of this?"

"I found out where my wife went, and followed her through the Anima, but of course, it plopped me back into the same time. I followed your mother, and eventually found her next to Acnologia. I was angry, but I knew that I couldn't kill the Dragon Slayer. So I waited patiently to gain Zeref's, the current kings, trust, and then subtly suggested to him that he should change the Dragon Slayer into an actual Dragon. It worked, and after Acnologia left, Zeref gave me immortality and I became his right-hand man. Your mother, on the other hand, died giving birth to you."

Kura stumbled, and I ran forward to steady her. Tears were flowing down her face and her lip quivered. Her startling eyes made sense now. It was the same colour as Acnologia blue-y purple markings. And her smell had a hint of Edolas, and Earthland, and even the Celestial Spirit world. That's why the Celestial Spirits kept giving her funny looks...

Kura shook her head. "y-you hurt my friends. You've caused me so many hurts. You have used Ren as bait. You've tortured him. I can't forgive you, you know that."

Damien shrugged. "I don't expect you to. Especially when I do this." We flinched, but nothing happened. Slowly, a steady whooshing noise came to my ears. And then a crying sound. Damien cast his hand out, and blew a three meter radius hole in the wall with yellow, crackling energy. The wall just exploded.

When the dust cleared, I saw the unforgivable. Eric, tiny Eric, was there, holding Aiko over the edge of the tower. Her body was lined with ropes, tightly bound, and a gag was shoved into her mouth. She was screaming and crying. Eric tucked in his wings, and they disappeared. The cute, innocent little boy act was gone now. He had a sharp, dangerous look in his eyes that told me he was ready to drop Aiko, up and over the Abyss.

"I gots the cat." He said in a sing-song voice.

"You little dirty twerp." I hissed. Kura stepped forwards, but Eric tutted, throwing his hand out more. Aiko screamed louder.

"Not another step. Your little friend here won't live long if you do. Do whatever Master says and I'll pull my hand back. Try anything, and she'll drop. Your friends won't come either. They're locked up in a cell unconscious. I took care of them."

I blinked. How did this brat make the legendary Erza Scarlet Titania unconscious? Eric caught my confused look and grinned. "When I shook her hand, I put an electric transmitter on that shocks the person senseless whenever I want. Then, I took out the Ice Mage the next second."

"Give us back Aiko!" Lucy pleaded. Kura pushed past her and started walking towards Damien.

"Kura, no!" I called, she ignored me though.

Damien flicked out a little control pad that appeared in his hands. "In the sphere." He said. The large sphere next to the FDC device popped open. Kuras eyes narrowed but she stepped inside. We couldn't do anything to stop her or Aiko would go over the edge of the tower. Eric grinned, and Kura watched him carefully as the hatch closed on its own. The clear glass turned transparent.

"FDC, start draining process." He told the computer. An Archive screen popped up, and we could see Kuras body, in shades of harsh red and blue and green, surrounded by a circle. The circle turned from grey to bright yellow, and Kura started screaming.

The sound was muffled through the glass, but I stomped forwards towards Damien. "let her go!" I snarled, lighting both of my hands aflame. "stop hurting her."

Eric, the puny little twerp, stepped between us. He held Aiko threateningly in his hand, grabbing roughly onto her scruff. Aiko wailed. "don't forget your cat." Eric said mockingly. I froze, turning instead to the FDC device.

I sent a big blast of flame at the sphere, hoping to melt it to pieces so Kura could get out, but the flames didn't do anything. Kura kept screaming inside, and I only got angrier. Ember tutted. "I wouldn't do that," he said, pushing Aiko closer to the edge. I stopped, torn between walking forwards or stopping, saving Kura or Aiko.

Luckily, Lucy pulled me back before I ended up killing either of them. Ember, Damien, and Eric looked at us. With Kura and Aiko being held hostage, Lucy out of magic and me feeling weak because of the previous fight, we didn't know what to do. _We were outnumbered too_, I thought to myself.

Lucy finally stepped forwards. "Damien, let Kura go."

The man chuckled. "why would I do that? The FDC device is charging off of her. Soon it'll be charged enough to use."

"what does it do?" I demanded. Damien shrugged.

"I'm not going to tell you. In a few minutes you may find out though."

"we can't let that happen." Lucy said, garnishing one of her keys. "Open, gate of the Ram, Aries!" the soft girl spirit popped up, and Eric grinned, throwing Aiko over the edge.

"After Aiko! Make a soft landing." Lucy cried to Aries. The ram jumped gracefully over the twerp and leaped after the cat. Eric scowled over that he had been outsmarted, sprouting his wings and taking off, chasing after the Spirit.

I looked at Lucy for a split second, concerned. She over-used her magic, and had collapsed on the ground. She was breathing heavily, trying to regain her composure. "go..." she muttered. "I'll be fine. I just have to keep Aries' Gate open for a minute. Go... kick ass for me." she grinned at the ground.

I grinned, hands setting alight. Inwardly I was worried, but for Lucy, I would kick ass and I would do it hard. Jumping forwards, Ember tried to block me from his Father. He sent a flying punch at me, and several more, but I dodged them all. I couldn't use my fire directly on him, so I had to use my plain old fists.

"I'll let, you, get away, if you stop, protecting, your father!" I said between blows. Ember crossed his arms, dulling the pain but still grunting. "I know you hate him. Why don't you just leave! You never cared for Damien, because he was abusive! So why do you continue protecting him?"

Ember saw Lucy trying to sneak around him to Damien, but his eyes narrowed and he sent a burst of flame to stop her. "Because it was my one and only dream to make him finally notice me!" he cried, tears in his eyes, finally retaliating. He punched and kicked and elbowed again and again, but I didn't let him get the better of me. "I was ignored. IGNORED! For the whole of my life! My mother died. All he talked about after was my not-even sister! Kura this, and Kura that! I wanted to be known, seen in his eyes as more than a burden! I was never powerful, so I offered to implant a Dragon Lacyrima in me so I could become that way! I chose fire because I wanted to beat the best Dragon Slayer at his own game! That's you, Dragneel! I wanted to eat the best of the best, so I could prove to my father that I wasn't useless! I looked up to you, until you disappeared on Tenrou Island. I gave up. My life was horrible! There was nothing left to fight for! AND" he cried between punches, "IT'S- ALL- YOUR- FAULT!"

Finally, I caught the last punch, twisted him around, and he landed on the ground with a heavy thud. He glared at me, but all his fight was lost. Ember stared at me dully. "Finish it. Kill me. Toss me over the fricken' tower if you want. Just finish it. My life is over. There's nothing left."

It was the same scene back at the Guild, except this time I knew what to say. "Ember. You are powerful. It's no use trying to please an evil old man who will never, ever, look up to you. Try to please who really counts. Try making some friends. Have some fun with them, rather than working your ass off for a nobody." I stood him up onto his feet and clapped him on the back. He looked surprised, nearly stumbling forwards.

"I don't need friends." He said stubbornly, looking away.

I chuckled. "God, you're hard-headed. Reminds me of someone. Anyways, don't stay with someone who's never gonna care for you. Get somebody better. Someone who will actually care. Like Lucy and me." The named blonde was looking at us, watching the previous fight, walking forwards. She grabbed my shoulder. I was slightly concerned that the grip wasn't tight, but I continued grinning.

Ember wiped the tears from his eyes, the black haired teen looking up at me and nodding. "I'm gonna try and make up for what I've done over the last few years. I'm helping take Damien down." He took my shoulder, and concentrated. His red fire magic started pouring into me, but before he collapsed, he sent me a shaky grin, jogging back to the door.

"I'm starting new. I really hope I can see you guys again, 'kay?" Ember said.

"I look forwards to it." We smiled as he left, but quickly set our anger towards Damien. We turned to the old man. I was all fired up, helped with Embers magic boost, was prepared to get Kura back. Unfortunately, Lucy was keeping Aries' Gate open, but, Eric, the twerp, wasn't back yet.

The man nodded. "Finally. My idiot of a son realizes that I was using him all along." My anger boiled higher. "he was of use, but he was stupid for staying with me all this time. His idiotic dreams was the only thing anchoring him here." He shrugged, turning around to the FDC device. The loading bar was at eight percent. Beside it was an image of three people, all in purple.

"You probably want to know what this device is for. It is hard to explain, so I'll show you what it does." He started typing, and for a moment, I didn't know what I should have done. Stay there and watch, or punch his face in? My anger turned into confusion when the letters started to pop onto the Archive screen.

N-A-T-S-U- -D-R-A-G-N-E—

"Natsu, stop him!" Lucy cried. Before I could move, the words completed and Damien pressed enter.

* * *

***DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS* dun dun dunnnnn!**

**what will happen now? **

**Review, or I'll tell Erza you ate her perfect strawberry cake!**

**Erza: RAGE!**

**Me; RUN FOR YOUR LIFE AND REVEIW! BEFORE THE MIGHTY TITANIA FINDS YOU! **


	17. Chapter 17

**OKAY! Whoo! unfortunately, we're nearing the end, BUT I find these chapters are the most heart-wrenching. I'm kinda sad though. I've worked hard on this thing. *sighs* oh well. also, I do not own Fairy Tail, unfortunately, but I do own Kura, Aiko, Ember, Damien, The Bloody Rose executioner Guild, yadadada.**

_**LAST TIME:**_

_**"you probably want to know what this device is for. It is hard to explain, so I'll show you what it does." He started typing, and for a moment, I didn't know what I should have done. Stay there and watch, or punch his face in? My anger turned into confusion when the letters started to pop onto the Archive screen.**_

_** N-A-T-S-U- -D-R-A-G-N-E—**_

_** "Natsu, stop him!" Lucy cried. Before I could move, the words completed and Damien pressed enter.**_

* * *

**Lucy's POV**

Natsu froze.

There was a slight hesitation. "N-Natsu?" I asked shakily. He wasn't moving, doing anything really, and it was beginning to scare me. Natsu was always moving, and _especially_ in a fight. He should have been punching Damiens face in by no, but no, he wasn't moving.

At all.

I turned around him, leaning forwards and looking deep into his eyes. They were glazed over, not bright like they usually were. "Natsu!" I cried it out stronger, but I was beginning to panic. What was wrong with my partner? I spun on Damien, who had put on a headset with a microphone attached to it.

"What's wrong with Natsu?" I demanded to him. I swore I was gonna kick his ass if _my_ pink-haired idiot was gonna stay like this for the rest of his life. Natsu wasn't... _Natsu_ right now. What the hell did the FDC do to him?

Suddenly, Natsu moved and hit me in the chest, sending me flying. I cried out in shock and pain, especially when I crashed into a wall, hard. A dozen stinging needles pricked through me. I landed on the floor in a heap, but managed to stand up shakily. _Why the hell did Natsu punch me?_ I demanded silently, holding my stomach.

"The FDC device combines Kuras magical power, and directs it at whoever I choose. When I typed in your friends name, this new magical power overloaded his brain and now," he put the microphone closer to his mouth, "I can control him, mentally or verbally. Kuras power contains all the magic from the four worlds. Her magic is one you cannot simply disobey. It is like the word of God."

"Technically, the FDC device is at minimal power, so I can only control a small amount of people, but I decided to make it more fun. Your partner is under my control, but you are not. If you do not knock him out or kill him, your nakama will kill you." He looked at me amused. my mouth opened in a silent gasp. Natsu was under Damiens control?

"Natsu, kill Heartfilia." The new Natsu launched himself forwards and I only just managed to dodge his flaming fist. Ayee! I stepped back, and only because the Dragon Slayers arm was stuck in the wall did he not punch me again. Natsu struggled, trying to dislodge his fist.

Shit, shit, SHIT! Natsu got his fist out, and he jumped again, roaring. I sidestepped, the fire heating up my nose for a split second, and then fell back trying to dodge another kick. I landed on the ground with a heavy thud. I was just dodging the attacks, not daring to try and hurt him. I couldn't, even if Natsu wasn't even there and trying to kill me.

The Dragon Slayer pounced, and I rolled, catching a glance at his face before moving out of the way. His eyes were narrowed; looking at me with a deadly, hateful expression, but underneath, deep under, there was a fiery glint that I couldn't mistake. Natsu was in there, trying to get out, but not being able to.

I jumped back again, but Natsu just stood there. Damien laughed amusedly. "Are you having fun yet Heartfilia? Natsu wishes you a Happy Birthday!" I thought frantically. In terms of strength, speed, power, fighting skills... the Dragon Slayer beat me. It was only luck keeping me alive at this point. I was out of magic to summon any more spirits. Evil Natsu still had plenty.

Natsu shot himself at me again, and this time, he caught my right shoulder, where I just got bit by the Sand Snake. I grit my teeth, tears in my eyes from holding the pain in, spinning around. If I stumbled, he would get me, and that would mean I would be toast. I knew Natsu was trying to pull himself back as best as he could, the new Natsu didn't seem as powerful as he was always, but my fighting skills [if I had any,] were still much more inferior to his.

I got out my whip. "I'm sorry Natsu." I would need to use this to protect myself, even though it wouldn't do much to defend me. I lashed it forwards, to where Natsu was—

Once standing. He turned up behind me and kneed me in the back. I choked out something, and then he took my arms and pinned then there. I struggled in his grip, but he was just too powerful for me to break loose.

"Good Natsu." Damien smirked. The new Natsu looked up, eyes glazed. He roughly took the whip from my hands and threw it away, to the corner of the room. Hauling me over his shoulder in my surprise, ignoring the weak punches I gave to his back, he unceremoniously dumped me at Damien's feet.

The older man looked surprised. "Why didn't you just kill her?" he asked. Natsu blinked, wincing.

"I—can't." the words were ground through his teeth. His hand lifted up and rubbed his head. Damien narrowed his eyes, but then clapped, grinning.

"Mighty fine spirit you have there, boy! You can disobey the FDC." The older man leaned in, nose to nose with the Dragon Slayers face. Natsu didn't move in the slightest, but the look in his eyes burned brighter. "I know you can hear me, little Dragon Slayer. Watch me kill your nakama in front of you, while you stand there and watch." Something flickered across Natsus face again. For a moment, I thought he would snap out of it, come save me, or SOMETHING, but the strange look disappeared as quickly as it came. The fiery layer under his eyes burned brighter though, even if his face held no expression.

I got up and sat on my elbows, glaring at Damien, who had his hand stretched out in front of my face. The hand glowed yellow. I got up quickly though, and I saw Natsu, who hadn't moved but looked as if he was silently applauding. "Since your partner can't do it, I'll finish it for him!" Damien grinned.

His hand let out a thin beam of yellow, which I ran from. The beam crackled with energy, and if it hit me, I was sure was gonna hurt. Damien moved his hand to follow me, but his power ran out. "we Edolas people can't use magic on our own, that is true, but you can implant certain magical powers inside. I use Lightning Magic. Getting hit by it directly could fry you." he sent more, rapid-fire blasts at me and I moved, grabbing my whip, until-

I was backed up into a corner, and Damien had sure-fire aim. His hand crackled, and I closed my eyes tightly, hugging the wall.

**_BOOM!_** Sparks of crackling electricity crashed into the wall beside me, making a giant crater. I warily opened my eyes and blinked. Why didn't it hit me?

Natsu had come to the rescue. He had managed to get control of his body just enough that he leaned over, pushing Damien's hand aside in the slightest so that he would miss me. Thank the lord. Or more specifically, Thank Natsu. I grabbed my whip, lashing it forwards towards Damien, but Controlled Natsu jumped in front and I hit him instead. Damien jumped back and I looked at Natsu in despair, who was holding his bloodied cheek. the look in his eyes was annoyed, saying, 'why did you do that?"

The FDC device still had control over him. I felt like crying out, screaming, but it wouldn't do me any good. No one was here to help me. Even Natsu, who was here but not at the same time.

Controlled Natsu, growling, let out a large blast of fire that I wasn't able to dodge. the fiery flames coated me completely. I screamed.

The crackling fire burned my skin and enveloped me in painful heat. It felt like a million needles were prickling into my skin, and I was launched back, crashing against the wall. I didn't even feel it; I was in so much pain. I screamed louder. Finally, the fiery red receded, but it hurt. Everything hurt.

I turned my head, but even that was hard. I was trying not to black out, and I silently gasped when I saw my body. My arms and legs were scorched. Brown and sickly black in some places. My clothes were shredded. I felt so weak I was ready to collapse at any second, and blood caked my hair and poured through my fingers. I looked up, my bones creaking in protest.

Natsus eyes were wide, and his hand had flown over to cover his mouth. He was shocked, pained, heartbroken, despairing, and panicking at the same time. he swallowed a sob. _He had snapped out of it._ I let out a shaky smile. "glad to... see you... woke up." I said in a dry, hoarse voice. my eyes flickered; even keeping them open was hard.

Before my eylids closed completely though, I glanced behind Natsu, and my eyes widened. Damien held his hand out, and it was crackling with yellow energy. He was aiming for the both of us, preparing to kill us both. A million thoughts raced through my head.

There was no hesitation.

_Five. _

I stood up on my feet shakily, determined to do what I was about to do. Damien grinned and Natsu looked surprised.

_Four. _

I jumped forwards, pushing past my Fire Dragon Slayer quickly. Time slowed down.

_Three. _

The magic shot out of Damien's hand, coming towards us in a circular beam of death, tearing apart concrete and sending debris flying in its path. Natsus eyes widened.

_Two. _

I screamed, releasing all my remaining magic, creating a giant golden Magic Circle shield, as my figure was enveloped in yellow light. Natsu roared, reaching his hand out...

_One. _

The Magic hit.

* * *

** Natsus POV **

The words finished typing, Damien pressed enter, and within seconds, I couldn't move. I closed my eyes for a few seconds, and when I opened them, everything was different.

Everything was black, but eventually a purple space swam into view. I blinked. I was floating on nothing in the violet, empty space. For the moment, I completely forgot why I was here and what happened outside. "whee!" I cried, tucking my legs in and turning in a circle. I giggled like a little girl. Suddenly, I remembered why I was here, the memories coming back in a wave. "Lucy!" my eyes widened, and I spun around, looking for an exit.

Shit! I needed to go help her! I don't know what that stupid Damien did, but I need to help her! Spinning around, all I would see was wavering purple, but then, a bubble floated into view.

"Huh?" I looked around, wondering what this was. I saw nobody around, so my finger reached towards it, then cautiously popped the floating bubble. It started to glow brightly, but it glowed black. It was like the Nirvana light. I closed my eyes, and I was back into my own body. "Lucy!" the blonde was there, staring right in my face. I tried calling out, but my mouth didn't obey me anymore.

"what the—" a voice interrupted my thoughts, echoing through my brain.

"Punch Lucy. Show her that you are under my control." The voice in my head said.

_What? Why would I punch Lucy! She's my partner, I wouldn't punch her!_ Suddenly, I moved forwards, hitting her in the gut with a flaming fist. She cried out, flying back and crashing into a wall. _LUCY_! I thought. I wanted to rush to her, help her, but my body wouldn't obey me.

MOVE! I ordered it, but I didn't budge. Damien spoke.

"The FDC device combines Kuras magical power, and directs it at whoever I choose. When I typed in your friends name, this new magical power overloaded his brain and now I can control him, mentally or verbally. Kuras power contains all the magic from the four worlds. Her magic is one you cannot simply disobey. It is like the word of God." _WHAT!_ It explained why I couldn't move, but I was gonna get control of my body. I DIDN'T WANT TO BECOME A PUPPET!

"Technically, the FDC device is at minimal power, so I can only control a small amount of people, but I decided to make it more fun. Your partner is under my control, but you are not. If you do not knock him out or kill him, your nakama will kill you." He smirked at Lucy, and my anger flashed.

"Natsu, kill Heartfilia." He said, and like the voice in my head, my body obeyed it. I launched forwards, nearly hitting Lucy in the face, but she squawked at jumped out of the way, just in time. Luckily, my fist was stuck in the concrete, and I was having trouble pulling it out. Lucy backed up.

I roared, finally managing to get loose, leaping again for the blonde. Lucy moved again, just in time. My fire scorched her nose. I tried to slow down, pull back, anything to help, but I couldn't move my own body. I was still trying to hurt Lucy.

USE THE WHIP! I cried silently. Even thought I could feel and hear everything fine, I/other Natsu was gonna end up hurting her if she didn't do something soon. Lucy was out of magic summoning Aries. I leaped again, but Lucy dropped under me and rolled. I glared at her, but flew past.

"Stop." The echo-y voice said. My body stopped.

Damien laughed behind me. "Are you having fun yet Heartfilia? Natsu wishes you a Happy Birthday!" my anger sparked, and I thought of every insult I could at him.

"Attack Heartfilia again." I launched forwards, and Lucys eyes widened. She ducked, but I hit her shoulder, where she was just bitten by Clays Sand Snake. She pulled away, teary eyed from the pain, and I fought my feet from chasing after her. Finally, she got out her whip.

YES! YOU STUPID BAKA, WHY DIDN'T YOU USE THAT SOONER! "I'm sorry Natsu." She said. She looked concerned, but she pulled back. My feet moved to behind Lucy, and her head snapped around as I kneed her in the spine. I pinned her arms back, and my hands began to warm up.

I was gonna burn her. I could feel the incoming urge to obey my Masters orders. My eyes widened and I fought the need to kill with everything I had. I WAS NOT gonna kill Lucy. The urge to burn got stronger, but I pushed back, not daring to let it reach my hands. I struggled for a moment or two. "Good Natsu." Damien smirked. I wanted nothing more to punch his face in.

I directed my hands to haul Lucy over my shoulder, taking the whip out of her hands and bringing her to Damien. She tried to punch my back, but I couldn't let go. This was the best I could do right now.

Damien blinked. "Why didn't you just kill her?" he asked.

"I—can't." Evil Natsu hissed. It was trying to obey his Masters orders, but I wouldn't let him.

Damien narrowed his eyes, but then clapped, grinning. "Mighty fine spirit you have there, boy! You can disobey the FDC." The older man leaned in, nose to nose with me. I glared at him. "I know you can hear me, little Dragon Slayer. Watch me kill your nakama in front of you, while you stand there and watch." did I mention that I hated him?

His hand shot out, and sparked with yellow energy. Lucy rolled out of the way, and I silently applauded her. _Go Lucy! _

"Since your partner can't do it, I'll finish it for him!" Damien grinned.

His hand let out a yellow beam of crackling light, which Lucy ran from. "we Edolas people can't use magic on our own, that is true, but you can implant certain magical powers inside. I have Lightning Magic. Getting hit by it directly could fry you." Damien said. He sent another volley of attacks at Luce, but she just managed to dodge them all. My feet wouldn't move, so I couldn't punch the man beside me face's in. I growled to myself. I couldn't stop it, even though I was trying my hardest. All I could do was stall.

I started to panic when Lucy was trapped in a corner. She hugged the wall, and when Damien aimed, she closed her eyes tightly. OH NO YOU DON'T! I cried silently, leaning as far as I could, using as much determination to just knock Damien's hand aside. The yellow beam of energy j-u-s-t missed Lucy. Her eyes opened, but she grinned at me, and pulling back her whip.

The whip came down, and I jumped in front of Damien unwillingly. The whip caught my cheek, and my hand raised to feel it. The open wound stung. I was lucky it didn't take out my eye.

My/Evil Natsus anger rose, and I couldn't stop the broiling fire escaping from my mouth, enveloping Lucy. Soon, I pulled back. My jaw dropped. My hand clapped over my mouth and my eyes watered staring at Lucy, horrified at what I had done. Her skin was scorched black. Her clothes were ripped. The tips of her hair had been burned off. I had finally woken up, but I was too late. Lucy looked up at me, softly groaning.

"Glad to... see you... woke up..." her voice was shaky and weak. I felt endless despair. I did this to my nakama. I did this to my favourite blonde. I did this to Lucy.

Her eyes zoomed out of focus, and her eyes widened. Suddenly, I heard a crackling noise behind me. Lucy got up, her bones creaking in protest, and I spun around at the same time. Before I knew it, she had jumped in front of me, protecting from the giant swath of yellow energy being fired at us. She screamed, and a giant, golden shield sprung into view. It spun slowly, was intricately designed, and absorbed most of the incoming energy before it began to crack. Lucy's figure was enveloped in yellow light. I roared, trying to find the blonde. Her body was flung into mine, sending me flying back and making me land on my behind. I oof-ed in surprise, but when I looked down, I—

Lucy's broken body had landed in my lap. Her skin was pale, she wasn't breathing, and many of her limbs were broken and twisted at odd angles. My eyes widened, and I felt shock, unable to compute what she just did. she just sacrificed her life... for mine.

I wasn't able to speak for a moment. "L-Lucy? Lu-Luce?" my eyes turned wider. I put her gently on the ground, kneeling over her.

"Lucy." I stared at her motionless body, finally beginning to understand. "Lucy! Please!" she still didn't move.

"Oh my god. Lucy. Lucy!" I screamed at her desperately on my knees, wanting her to wake up, to move, to do _anything_. The burn marks were like ugly scars on her body. Her hair fell in front of her face, and her eyes were shut.

"No, no, no, no! This wasn't supposed to happen! Lucy you have to be okay. Please be okay. Please!" I pleaded at her. I bowed my head and dug it into the place where her head attached to her shoulders. Before I knew it, the tears were flowing down my cheeks and falling in her hair and onto her neck. "No... No... Please, no..." the fat, heavy droplets of water rolled, dropping down my chin, and I hugged Lucy tighter. She wouldn't be dead. She couldn't be dead.

There was a chuckle in front of me. My head whipped up. "You really do love that girl, don't you?" Damien smirked. My anger boiled. "She's no use to me, so she can go ahead and die." My eyes widened and turned slit-like. My breathing turned heavy.

"You—you..!" there were no words that could describe what he did. My vision turned red and my anger swamped me over. "You killed Lucy! LUCY WAS MY NAKAMA, MY FRIEND, AND SHE'S DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!" I roared, and the sound boomed throughout the Clockwork Tower. I put Lucy on the ground, gently, and stood up. Damien seemed unfazed.

The skin on my face and arms began to crack, and I felt a bottomless hole of Magical energy I could use. Dragon force.

I launched myself forwards, punching the older man in the face innumerable times, kicking him in the stomach, sending him flying into the wall. His stupid headset broke and he choked out blood. I followed after him, hitting him again and again, body flaming like the fires of hell.

He didn't deserve pity. My only narrow thoughts were the last seconds I saw of Luce, and how she had disappeared before Damien's magic. It was HIS fault MY Lucy was dead. I roared, and my flames burned brighter. The older man now had open, bleeding wounds and bruises forming, but I didn't care. I couldn't imagine a life without Lucy. It simply didn't exist, and I didn't care if I exhausted my magic and ended up killing myself.

Lucy was gone.

Everything was washed in red. I couldn't see anything but my dead partner, but somehow, I was beating Damien senseless. He tried to stop me with crackly beams of energy, but they did nothing to stop me. I was a fighting machine, unfeeling to anything. He killed Lucy, and I was thirsting for blood. I tore through his weak, panicked Magic and hit him more. think I blacked out, because when I woke up, I was watching as Damien fell over the side of the tower, disappearing over the edge. If he wasn't dead by the time he hit the ground, he was unlucky. The Dragon Force faded, and I felt so, so tired, I nearly collapsed, but I rushed to Lucy's side. Her skin was pale and she looked startlingly dead. But I felt a weak heartbeat under her skin.

I paid no attention that I just killed someone. I didn't care, only paying attention to the fierce burn of protecting Lucy. Fire raged around me, but somehow, they didn't burn Lucy's body. Tears fell down my cheeks, and I put my head in her chest, howling like a parent losing his child.


	18. Chapter 18

**Sad, huh? How was that? This chapter will be about if Lucy's gonna make it or not, and what Natsus reaction will be. Kinda a sad one. Warning; this chapter has som blood in it. just go to the bottom or the non-violent summary.**

**OMG, did you guys read the newest chapter? [334] a bit of Jerza [-go Jerza-] but GRUVIA! I can't believe it! i'm sad now, but Hiro said on his facebook account "just wait until next week. you'll be surprised." **

**wait until next week... **

**WAIT UNTIL NEXT WEEK!**

**Hiro, I CANNOT WAIT FOR NET WEEK! THAT'S CRAZY TALK! **

**DISCLAIMER; I don't own FT. [I wish I did, [especially now,] but I don't.]**

* * *

** Kuras POV**

I looked up as the Pink haired Dragon Slayer opened the hatch to the FDC device. My neck groaned in protest. I was beyond exhausted and sore and pained, but I'd heard what had gone on outside. I was barely conscious, but I needed to move.

Natsu was covered with cuts and bruises, lining his arms and legs, including a particularly nasty dark spot on the right side of his face. His eyes though, were terrified. Beyond exhausted, but petrified. He didn't say anything, even when I got out inspecting the damage. As soon as I saw Lucy's body, my hands flew to my mouth and I gasped. Lucy was on the ground, bleeding heavily as it started to pool on the floor. Lucy had bruises and smaller cuts on her arms and legs, but the biggest wound was on her stomach, a deep red line spilling out blood. She was barely breathing, her limbs twisted at sickening angles.

"We need to bandage her up quickly, and then bring her to the car. We need to get to a hospital." He said it quietly, already tearing swaths of cloth from his already-ruined vest and tying it around the worst wounds, eyes hooded. "what are you waiting for? He snapped.

I got to work, quickly tying the worst wounds up with the strips Natsu handed to me. At this rate though, she wasn't going to make it. I didn't want to voice my concerns though.

Erza, Gray, Ren, and Aiko ran into the destroyed room. Aiko hugged me, then looked over my shoulder and the blood that covered my hands. Her pupils turned smaller. The other three humans behind her seemed petrified.

The silence only lasted a short time. "who did this!" Erza yelled. The anger in her voice was clear; she was going to hunt down Lucy's villain until he got punishment. The Ice Mage beside her seemed equally mad.

Natsu replied, his eyes still hooded. "Damien. He's at the bottom of the tower now." Erza was shocked into silence, but it didn't last long, she kneeled next to me and requipped into her nurses uniform, bringing out her first aid kit.

We were almost done bandaging her, and everything spun downhill from there. "Natsu... I don't think Lucy's going to make it. at this rate..." Erza swallowed a sob. I was shocked to see she was crying. She didn't seem the type to cry.

"we have to get her to the car." Natsu didn't answer her question specifically. I pressed my lips together, thinking of what I could do to help.

"Guys?" everyone's heads whipped towards me. "I don't know if this'll work... but it might give Lucy some more time." Lucy needed blood and energy to live, and I was an Energy Dragon Slayer...

"but... what I would do... you wouldn't like it." I said. Natsu eyed me.

"do it. whatever gives Lucy more time." He insisted.

I swallowed a sob. Despite everything that's happened, I hated to see blood and people in pain. "N-Natsu? As I do this, you're gonna have to seal the wounds. Meaning you'll have to burn Lucy's stomach wound shut. It's gonna hurt her."

He seemed shocked, and for a moment, I wasn't sure if he was going to be able to do it. "fine. We have no time to tell us the details." His pink dirty hair, already messy, shadowed his eyes and his lip quivered. He didn't like it. "Erza, Gray, hold down Lucy." He said quietly. They both looked concerned, but went to go do what he asked.

I put my hands out in front of me, and they began to glow. Lucy shuddered, and then started trembling violently. Natsu winced. "putting energy into someone's' body forcefully will hurt." I was trying hard not to pull back my hands. I was causing Lucy pain, and was telling Natsu to cause more.

This was killing the Dragon Slayer, but he knew that it was necessary. I put my hands in front of me again and concentrated, trying to swallow my sobs. Erza and Gray pressed down. I felt magical energy flow into Lucy's body. It wasn't Healing Magic like Wendy's, but it would give us more time to get to a doctor. Lucy started shaking, as if she was extremely cold.

the Fire Dragon Slayer wasn't moving. "Natsu. Natsu!" I snapped at him, red-eyed. He wasn't closing the wounds. "you need to close the wounds now, before she loses any more blood. You'll need to hurt her to help her!"

He put his hands out, and I could tell that he was trying his hardest not to pull them back. He put his hands on her stomach and gently flamed them. Lucy shuddered in pain, and the already pitiful flame flickered. "Natsu!" I yelled at him. "you're doing nothing but burning her! You need to put pressure!" I felt bad, but if Natsu wasn't going to do anything than Lucy definitely wasn't going to make it. The light from my hands was already wavering.

Erza put a hand on his shoulder. "Natsu, you need to do this. Lucy won't make it if you don't. I don't like seeing her hurt, but if she dies it's gonna make it worse."

His eyes were hooded as he put his hands down and pressed on the bad stomach wound. The heavily bleeding cut started closing, and Lucys violent trembles turned into convulsing, her body trying to get away from the burn. Gray and Erza held her down. Finally, the wound closed forcefully, and I jerked back. Ren helped steady me.

Now I was really exhausted. My vision wasn't right. The whole room started spinning. The others looked at me concerned when I scooted to a wall to lean on. Ren kneeled next to me.

His voice was murky "I'll carry... need... help girl..." the others nodded, and my friend picked me up and carried me in his arms. I wasn't a featherweight, but Ren was strong. Natsu gently took Lucy's body in his arms. We ran down the clock towers staircase. The old building was now abandoned.

I tried to keep my eyes open, but all I wanted to do was sleep. Sleep felt nice. Finally, I closed my eyes and just enjoyed Rens warmth.

* * *

**Lucy's POV**

My body felt so sore and pained. Without opening my eyes, I slowly drifted into consciousness, testing my surroundings and feeling my body for injuries. I wasn't sure, but I thought some of my bones were broken. I couldn't move much, at all at that, and everything hurt.

I felt bathed in warmth, and I felt strong arms carrying me. The heat was intense, but not enough to hurt. A steady rocking motion, the pitter-patter of running legs, and quick, harsh breathing almost lulled me back to sleep. It would have been much easier to just fall under again, I thought breezily, and I was close to, but instead, my eyes fluttered open.

Everything was blurry, and all I could see was red and black. I squinted, but gave up and just closed my eyes again, content to just stay here and relax. I didn't care at this point, not aware of really anything, except the noises that my ears caught.

My thoughts were hazy, slipping in and under the fog of my mind. My hand shifted painfully, and then I was aware of how crusty and dry it felt. It closed into a fist and dry flakes came off. I opened my eyes in the slightest. My hand was bright red, covered in- Dried blood...

I felt the aching from my arms and legs and chest that I was trying hard to ignore. I was swimming in an ocean of hurt, but I was too dazed to feel it. My thoughts were like mist, there, but I couldn't really see it. I was subconsciously alarmed, but too tired to really care. I just wanted to sleep.

"Stop moving." A voice commanded quietly. I felt so dazed that at first I didn't recognize it. I latched onto the voice and pulled back into consciousness.

"Na...tsu..?" I opened my eyes, recognizing the red FairyTail guild symbol on his right shoulder, and his black vest. It was torn in many places, but was holding together. He had large cuts on his arms, but was carrying me in a bridal-like fashion, cradling me to his chest. Another figure, with red hair and wearing a silvery outfit was running beside us. Natsus breathing was heavy, and finally he slowed down to a jog.

"We're nearly there. You can't die on us now Luce. You need to stay awake." His voice was frantic, but it was dull. It seemed to go straight through my ears, but not through my brain.

"Lucy!" he cried. He had put me down on something soft, and I hadn't even realized it. I blacked out for a moment. Natsu and the scarlet haired figure bandaged me up as best as they could, occasionally calling my name to wake me up.

But it soon stopped working. Their voices were getting quieter and quieter, until I couldn't hear it anymore. I was looking up at the yellow-tinged sky, and everything was silent. The view shook a little; someone was trying to jostle me awake.

_ Leave me alone... I just want to sleep... _

The angry shakes continued.

_ Stop bugging me..._ I winced.

A redheaded girl and three pink, brown, and black haired boys popped into view. I thought I was dreaming because two flying cats also peered above me.

_That's funny... _I thought. _The cats... have wings..! And they're... strange colours too... blue and purple... and the boy..! He has PINK hair. I mean, who has pink hair?_ I was amused, smirking at the thought, before everything went under.

* * *

** Natsus POV **

"Lucy!" everyone cried. Her big brown orbs had gone dull and focusless. Tears starting flowing down my cheeks again. I spun around, glaring at Erza, Gray, Aiko, some new guy carrying Kura, and Happy, _anyone_ who could do _something_. I screamed at Lucy's body, at everyone, at everything.

"Somebody, do something!" I wailed. Lucy would not die. Lucy couldn't die. I heard her breathing and heartbeat becoming slower and slower though. She wasn't dead yet, but if nobody did something, she was really gonna—I hiccupped a sob. What we did before wasn't enough.

Happy wobbled forwards, going on Lucy's chest, crying. "Lucyyy... Wake up..." he whined. "Lucyyyyy...please... wake up... we need to go on another mission together back at FairyTail... you need to get mad a Natsu for destroying another building... you... can't die, because who's gonna yell at us for breaking into your house?... or help bandage Natsu when he gets hurt by Gray? or celebrate with us? Lucy! you can't die!" the little blue cats words were full of hiccups, and he hugged her midsection tightly.

Lucy moved in the slightest. "Ha...ppy... N...atsu..." her dull brown eyes flickered open, and slowly, her hand, crinkly from dried blood, moved to pet the little cat's head. "don't be... sad..." Happy looked up, eyes wide and wet. Lucys hand flopped back to the ground and her eyes closed. The scene made tears fall down my face. Happy loved Lucy too, just as much as I did. It wouldn't be easy for him to cope if-

I didn't finish the sentence.

Kura shuddered and opened her eyes. She was exhausted, I knew, because of using her new magic to help Lucy before. but she needed to help some more. Without her, Lucy wasn't going to make it. I spun on her. "Kura... please help Lucy again."

I didn't know what I was going to do if Lucy was gone. I'd always imagined that Team Natsu would live together happily. My visions began to crumble as I watched the fading Lucy. At this rate, she wasn't going to make it. Even with a mage's powerful durability, that amount of blood loss was... I hiccupped a sob. No more Lucy was unthinkable.

"Kura... please help Lucy. I'm begging you." Erza and Gray looked at me sharply.

"Natsu! even if you gave her magic, Energy and Magic are two different things. Her energy is used to direct her Magic, and using it in this state-" Erza was cut off.

Kura got up on her feet. "I need to do this." She told the other mages. "I won't be able to stand it if Lucy dies and I had a chance to help her." Erza and Gray turned quiet.

"Natsu, light your hand on fire." she told me. I did what she asked, the bright, but flickering flame burning small. Kura started eating it, to my surprise. if she was an Energy Dragon Slayer, I guess energy was what she ate. She sucked the flames through her mouth like a straw.

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, wincing a little, and turned to Lucy. Erza and Gray held the blonde down, giving Kura one last cautionary and concerned glance before her hands lit up. The new person held onto her shoulders.

A minute passed, then Kura shuddered, giving out like a burnt light bulb. She cried out, jerking back away from Lucy. The new person caught her, and checked to see if she was okay.

Lucy didn't look much better, but her heartbeat was steadier. She was still too pale for my taste, sweaty from Kuras helping and still looked in critical condition. The spurt of Magic wasn't much, but it was enough. With Lucys major wound shut and energy to keep her heart beating, she might just make it. But we needed to get to a hospital fast.

"Get into the damn car!" I barked. "Fullbuster, get your ass over here and help me with Lucy! Erza, take the wheel!" everyone blinked. I was telling everyone... to get into _a car_? Everyone started running for the vehicle, Erza dragging the new person with Kura by the sleeve and Gray took the other end of the blanket Lucy was lying on and helped pick her up.

"You drop her, I'll kill you." I told him. He nodded sincerely. We placed her gently on the car seat and jumped in, cramming onto the other bench with Kura and the new guy. Erza pressed the gas, and we sped out of the desert and onto the road to the nearest hospital. Nobody dared speak in case it angered me; even though I was too busy trying to keep my motion sickness back. _It wasn't the time to be sick. I had Lucy to worry about._

Within ten precious minutes, Erza parked into the parking lot. The motion sickness faded, and I leaped out of the car. " Aiko, Happy, new person, run for the hospital. This is an emergency!" I roared at them. The two dashed for the door. Gray helped my pick up Lucy and we quickly, [and carefully,] ran for the same door that Aiko and Happy had disappeared into.

Erza, jogging behind us, spoke up. "I'm going to go call Master. He'll want to know." I growled my admission and she left.

We burst into the lobby, where already nurses and doctors were waiting for us with a stretcher. Gray and I put Lucy on and they wheeled her off, us following behind.

_Lucy..._

* * *

**Non-violent summary: **

**Lucy got hurt, badly. using Kura's Energy Dragon Slayer Magic, everyone managed to slow down Lucy's incoming death, but only barely. Kura falls unconscious from over-usage of her magic, but is fine. the Fairies, plus Kura's group, run for the nearest hospital, hoping to save Lucy's life, and that's where this chapter ends.**

**I'm really sorry I haven't posted this week, but end-of-the-year projects and exams and extra curricular activities has kept me busy. I was gonna post yesterday, but the internet was acting funny and wouldn't let me go onto my page. GRR. Stupid internet.**

**Please review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**GRR! Sorry I haven't posted in a week. With Exams and stuff I've been having trouble getting writing time. Plus, I had to rewrite it three times. Stupid self-critism... Anyways, I also realized that I got myself into an issue. Chapter 18 had the POVs from Lucy, Natsu AND Kura, plus the girls were unconscious, AND Natsu did the last POV. [Just to add the cherry on top, there's a lot of moving around in this chapter, stuff that can't be done with only one POV...] Well, I rewrote it, and gave you guys a special treat. This is done in 3rd person, instead of 1st. Review, maybe, and tell me if I'm better with 1st or 3rd person?**

* * *

**Special chapter! :D**

The Fairies and Kuras group ran into the hospital, carrying a dying girl in a makeshift cot. The poor girl was in critical condition, and her saviours were beyond terrified.

They burst through the doors, where Ren and the two Exceeds had already gotten medical help. A dozen doctors and nurses in pressed white uniforms stood there, waiting for the critical-condition patient. Gray and Natsu put Lucy on the stretcher and the doctors wheeled her down a hallway hurriedly. Everyone followed, save Ren and Aiko, who stayed behind. Gray had taken another route to go call the FairyTail guild. Erza glanced behind her at the two, already knowing what they were going back for. Kura, who was currently lying in the car, still unconscious.

"You'll be fine?" the scarlet asked. They nodded, and she hesitated before running to catch up with the stretcher. They ran through a dozen white-washed hallways, with the sound of screaming and crying from other patients further down in the background. Finally, they stopped at a room. The dying girl was wheeled inside, and Natsu tried to follow her. The scarlet pulled him back tightly, using his scarf. He wailed in protest, calling the dying girls name.

Erza knew if Natsu wasn't sedated he would burn down the whole hospital. "Natsu. We're not allowed in there!" she hissed at him. Erza was concerned for Lucy's safety too, but they couldn't get in the doctors way. Through the door, the Scarlet could hear them shuffling around. "We can't get in the doctors way. It'll only endanger Lucy's life more."

The Dragon slayer stopped, looking at his friend. His wide, slightly slanted eyes were beginning to tear up. he was beginning to crack under the pressure. Natsu sat down on a chair next to the dying girls room, partially melting the cheap plastic chair in his anger. The pink-haired man began to mourn, hiding his face in his hands and sobbing quietly to himself. Happy flew up on his shoulder and hugged him.

Erza sat down next to Natsu, also giving him a hug. The Dragon Slayer dug his face into her neck and clutched on like she was a lifeline. Muttering soft words under her breath, the Scarlet tried to reassure him [and herself], although she also doubted too, preparing for the worst. She sighed.

* * *

Ren, Kura, and Aiko were on the other side of the hospital getting their own treatment. Kura was lying on a soft bed, unconscious, with various things strapped onto her arms. Ren was unusually impatient, tapping his foot on the ground, waiting of the doctor to come and see his best friend.

At that moment, the doctor, a middle-aged man with thinning ginger hair and ridiculously large glasses, walked in, closing the door behind him. "well, hello there. My name is doctor Liam." He shook hands with the Exceed and impatient boy. Checking his papers, he read. "this is Kura Fenline, right?" they nodded. They used her fake last name. Aiko was once again quiet, now that there was someone she didn't know in the room.

Dr. Liam sat down, opposite to Ren. "Here it says she suffered from Magic exhaustion, correct?"

"Yes sir, we were on a mission together and she overused her magic trying to slay a beast." He lied. They couldn't tell the truth about how Kura was really hurt, so it was the lie Ren and Aiko made up.

"Well, by the chart, she should be fine. Just needs to recuperate." Dr. Liam said, consulting his clipboard again. Ren pulled his sleeves out, trying to hide the scars on his arms and legs, hoping the doctor wouldn't notice.

Dr. Liam nodded. "if that's it, then you can wait here for her to wake up. she isn't in too bad of a condition, so she should come back sometime around." He left, once again closing the door behind him. Ren sighed.

Aiko, sitting on a small table surrounded by devices, started talking again. "will Lucy be okay?" she asked, mostly to herself. Ren glanced at her.

"The girl that was hurt?" Ren's curiosity spiked. Aiko, if he remembered correctly, didn't talk much about other people. He wondered once again what these other people, that he didn't really know, did for them. Aiko caught his look.

"After the Attack, we ran west and eventually stopped at the FairyTail guild. During a mission that the Fairies made us go on, they discovered everything, and we had to run off again. We've been around, but then Damien kidnapped us and now..."

"But Lucy, Natsu, Erza, Gray, and Happy... they fought for us. And I'm really glad too. But now Lucy's hurt and she might even die." She said it with such a deadly seriousness, uncommon to Aiko, that Ren nearly flinched. The man moved, grabbing the little purple cat and putting her on his lap, like they used to do.

Finally, she closed her eyes, too tired to even stay awake. The sun had to be beginning to set by now, Ren thought, and all this had to be hard on her. The man rubbed her head absentmindedly, wondering what was going to happen to the girl he saw in the stretcher.

Slowly, his eyes began to close and he fell asleep, gently hugging the furry little cat on his lap.

* * *

Rens eyes opened, and he rubbed the gunk forming in his eyes. He looked over at the hospital bed, where Kura was waiting for them to wake. "did you know that you look cute when you're sleeping?" she commented. Ren flushed slightly, trying to hide it by turning his head, hoping she didn't notice.

"Good morning." He said, gently depositing Aiko and moving to sit next to Kura.

"You mean good night." She pointed to a clock on the far wall. It was only 11:49 at night. Ren hadn't noticed the clock before.

"Oh," was all he said. The purple haired mage chuckled, leaning her head back. She was still incredibly tired, but she wanted to stay awake. "I missed you." He blurted out. Kura glanced at him, faintly surprised, but she put her head back.

"I did too." She closed her eyes. Before he knew it, he was kissing her. Kuras eyes flew open, and he pulled away. Kura seemed to be silently hyperventilating.

"Holy crap." She muttered under her breath. She didn't feel tired anymore, her brain racing at a million thoughts per second. Ren had turned a brilliant crimson, looking away with his face beet-red. He'd wanted to do that for a long time, but after he did it, he didn't really know what to think.

They didn't talk much after that, but each was silently having a party in their mind.

* * *

Two days later, Kura was released from her room. She walked through the white-washed corridors, heading towards Lucy's area with Ren and Aiko. She turned a corner, and there was Natsu, who looked empty and like he hadn't moved since he sat down. Somebody had bandaged up the whiplash wound from Lucy, covering up half his face. Happy was trying to get him to eat.

"Natsu..." he whined, shoving the paper bag in his face. "You need to eat... Even Erza says so." The little blue Exceed had his eyes watering, because he was concerned for his friend. Natsu was the one who raised him, he was like a father to Happy, and seeing him not eat was impossible for the cat to watch. Natsu was ALWAYS eating, or at least hungry.

"Natsu... please!" Happy wailed. Natsu finally turned to him, eyes glazed but angry. "Happy..! I don't need food right now. I need Lucy to be okay..!" instantly he seemed to regret the words as Happy started bawling. He ran off, and Aiko flew off Kura's shoulder to go help him.

The purple haired mage walked up to Natsu, with an angry frown on her face. "Natsu! You should go apologize. That was mean! We all know we're concerned for Lucy, but that isn't an excuse for what you just did." she leaned in close, in front on his face, so that he understood her words in his vacant state.

"I know..." he looked down. "I just can't believe it. Lucy's—"

Just then, Natsu was cut off by thundering feet stomping through the hallways. A dozen heads popped around the corner. It was many members of the FairyTail guild, all concerned for their nakama. Natsu looked over, once again seemingly empty.

A split second later, the group were bombarded by questions. "Is Lucy okay?" "Who's the new person?" "I heard what happened, are you okay?"

"SHADDUP!" Natsu and Master shouted. The Fire Dragon Slayer practically spat fire, and FairyTails master had a golden glow around him. Instantly, everyone became quiet. Natsu and Master Makarov looked at each other, and Natsu sat down again, partially melting it in his anger. Again. The chair was very deformed at this point. Master sighed.

"okay, we all know we're very concerned for our nakama, but we need to calm down." Makarov turned to Kura and Erza, [the red haired mage just appeared then]. "could you take everyone to the hotel? I need to speak with Natsu for a moment." Kura obliged, knowing that Master would be able to reach to Natsu like nobody else could.

They walked as a group, and Kura, with Aiko riding on her shoulder, looked back at them concerned. Everyone was unusually, [even more so since it was FairyTail,] quiet. There were half-hearted chats going on, but they quickly stopped.

Kura pouted and continued walking, knowing it was all her fault that everything happened.

* * *

Natsu looked up, dark eyes not lit up like they usually were. A million thoughts raced through his head, but he was just too damn tired to think hard about them. he hadn't slept in days, not moving or eating, and he honestly really didn't care. He was empty, but for once, food wasn't on his mind.

Dammit, if he didn't see Lucy okay soon, it was going to be the death of him.

Gramps, once everyone left, gave Natsu a concerned glance. Because both Natsus real father and Igneel the fire dragon were gone, Master Makarov was his fatherly figure. He didn't like seeing Natsu like this. It was very not Natsu-ish.

"You know everyone in FairyTail won't give up, right Natsu?" he said. Natsu looked away, refusing to make eye contact.

"I know." he said bitterly.

"Lucy's part of the family; we're all worried for her, but we all know she won't give up."

"I know... but... it's just..." he couldn't finish the sentence properly, not knowing how to put it into words.

Master already knew where he was going. Natsu had a straightforward mind, and one of the major things that were on the single track was his nakama. "Lucy had always been your partner, and you find it's your duty to protect her. But you hurt her instead, putting a large mark in your pride and you want to fix everything before it's too late." Natsu nodded slowly. "I know."

"When I couldn't get out of Damien's control and started hurting Lucy I—" suddenly, the door burst open and a doctor came out. Natsu stood up immediately. "is she okay? Will she make—" he stopped when he saw the expression on his face. No, it couldn't be—

"Heartfilia will be okay." Natsu took a second to compute the sentence and let out a whoop. "we've spent the last couple of days stabilizing her. she has a couple of broken and fractured bones and will have to spend a while in casts and use crutches, but all she needs is rest. you can go see her now, but Lucy is asleep at the moment and visitor hours end soo—" the poor man was broken off with a giant, squishy hug from Natsu. The Salamander was back. The bone crushing hug, that nearly killed extra-durable mages on a normal day, wasn't allowing the poor man to breathe. Finally, the pink-haired Dragon Slayer let go and rushed into the room.

The cheerful doctor chuckled, hacking a tiny bit. "Nice seeing young people like him these days. He's been staying here ever since they arrived, hasn't he?" the man looked at Makarov. The Master nodded, smiling. "he certainly is worried for his friend." Makarov was glad his daughter was okay, but he would give his other child a moment to be alone before the other Guild Members found out about Lucy.

He walked off, expecting they would run back by the time he was done talking.

* * *

"Luce? Hey, Luce?" the Dragon Slayers head popped through the door. His shoulders slumped when she saw her on the bed, fast asleep. [he didn't catch on when the doctor said, 'she was asleep', but he didn't care, because he could hear her heart beating and see her hair moving slightly when she breathed.] But he regained his cheerful expression again quickly. She was alive.

He sat next to her on another [incredibly easy to melt] plastic chair. Lucy was wrapped nearly head to toe in bandages, had various things strapped to her arms, and there was a medical machine beside her that did a little beep every now and then [it was annoying Natsu like crazy. He just wanted to smash it to pieces to shut it up, but he didn't know what it did and how it affected Lucy's health if he broke it. so he let it be, trying to ignore the little high-pitched beeps.]

At first, he didn't know what to say to the unconscious Lucy. He just sat there. But knowing that the other guild members could come at any second, this was the only free time he was gonna get with her for the next... long period of time, he gathered up his courage and words and let it spill out.

"God Lucy, I don't know where to start. I feel so, incredibly guilty." A weight crashed on him as soon as he said the words, as if on cue, "and I want to say I'm sorry. I know if you were awake you'd say 'it's not your fault Natsu,' but I still kinda feel it is. It _IS_ my fault you got hurt. I was the one who gave you the burns and beat you until you could barely stand. And, well, I would never intentionally hurt you, you know that Luce." He sighed, almost out of words to say and getting increasingly frustrated about THAT DAMN BEEPING NOISE in the background but he had to continue. He'd almost wished that he could face off a hundred monsters or another evil villain again, because it was so much easier than _getting your feelings out and actually telling someone_. It wasn't like a love confession, no, but still Natsu felt awkward. He was never good with words. He'd always solved problems with his fists, not his mouth. And he couldn't punch an unconscious girl, could he?

He blew out a huff of air, blowing his pink hair up a bit. Now that he wasn't in his stupor he realized how dirty he looked. He never REALLY paid attention to his looks, but this was just plain gross. Even _he_ was aware of it. he felt the tips of his hair.

...

...

...

FOCUS, NATSU! He cried mentally. _Stupid one track mind..._ even though he didn't really understand what that meant, people used it enough to describe him that he got the point.

"Well, anyway. When I saw you—" of course, he was cut off by loud screams, much too noisy for a hospital. Lots of shushes were heard. He groaned as a dozen FairyTail members rushed into the room, finally giving up.

Everyone was being too loud! Natsu plugged his ears in until Erza yelled at everyone, "this is a hospital, dammit! Calm down and shut your asses!" [Being in no way quiet herself.] Everyone went silent, and steady, [quiet] conversation started again, to the relief of Natsus hypersensitive ears. He unplugged them, smiling faintly at Erza. He bet that once everyone heard Lucy was okay, she had to restrain them. Titania flashed a grin at the Dragon Slayer.

* * *

**SUMMERS ALMOST HERE! YAY! expect more posts from me sooner [even though Four Magics is beginning to come to a close, *sigh,*] but I MIGHT be doing a sequel if I get enough reviews. I definitely will be doing one-shots though. **

**but still, please review if you consider this story REVEIW-WORTHY! **


	20. Chapter 20

**Me sad now. This is likely to be the last chapter of Four Magics. Pity. I really started to enjoy my new characters. I might keep them as background characters in later Fanfics. I don't know. I MIGHT do an epilogue, but i'm not sure. if I get enough reviews, I should do a sequel. once again, I don't know. maybe I should ask for... 25? 30? and of course, after my stup- Exams, it'll be summer. expect more one-shots and such!**

* * *

** Lucy's POV **

"Arg!" I cried for the millionth time today. The guild was having a party in Team Natsu's and Team Kuras [mostly] safe return, but with all the casts and bandages I had on, I couldn't join in on the fun as much. I mean, I can barely climb stairs without needing someone's help!

Speaking of which... "You okay Luce?" Natsu asked, sweat dropping at his nakamas [me,] furious attempts to climb up the three-step entrance to FairyTail. We had been partying for hours, and finally, I had judged myself too weak at the moment to be hanging around with a bunch of drunk Fairies, who made insane people looked normal. I did NOT want to be clocked on the head with a beer bottle, especially in this state.

I growled. I was only on the first step, but I would conquer this mighty staircase [read; three step staircase,] if it was the last thing I did.

Natsu finally gave up watching me and helped me up. I sent him a stubborn glare. "I was doing fine on my own!" he chuckled. My wounds were healing nicely, I just had to [and I quote,] 'keep Lucy away from harm, exhaustion, or exert force into anything'. Meaning, I had to move AWAY from the guild when it was party time. Kura, Ren, and Aiko were in there too, secretly because they weren't supposed to. Kura still had the ban to visiting Magnolia.

Over the last couple of day, [after I had awoken in the hospital bed and was assaulted by questions, then moved back to Magnolia because the doctors said I was okay to ride in a car,] Natsu had been oddly... Un-Natsu-ish. He actually PAID ATTENTION TO ME when he was fighting with Gray, he had his eye on me at ALL times, [it was extremely uncomfortable at some points,] and even punched Gajeel when he accidently tripped over my cast. It hurt and all, but I had to stop Natsu from practically killing the Iron Dragon Slayer. I swore a little chibi ghost flew out of Gajeel's head.

The Iron Dragon Slayer stayed AWAY from me and Natsu from then on, but sometimes he would catch my look and smile knowingly, like he knew something that I didn't. For some reason, I would fluster and look way quickly. Probably cause Gajeel NEVER smiled. Unless he was with Levy [the Solid-Script mage and my best female friend,] or up to something.

I went with number two.

I hopped up on my crutches and swung along. Natsu followed me, much to my irritation. I hoped someone, like Erza or Juvia, would come out of the guild and offer for them to take me in, but no, no such luck came.

Not that I was avoiding Natsu, it WAS a good thing that he did break out of the FDC and beat the crap outta Damien eventually, but his behaviour was so unNatsuish it was beginning to bug me. Natsu being unNatsuish was... unNatsuish. [I just confused myself with my own logic.]

I looked up at the sky. It was turning a dark purple, not quite the evening but not quite night time either. Sighing, I continued my way. We walked in silence, wanting the other to talk first, so neither of us did. On the block of my house, Natsu piped up. "so, what's up Luce?" Happy wasn't with us, going off to see Charles and Wendy, or something like that.

"Eh, nothing much. Just, you know, wrapped up in so many bandages I can barely scratch my leg." I tried to bend over to make an example. Natsu laughed, but it was half-hearted. We continued walking.

"So, what's up with you?" I asked, just trying to get conversation going. Natsu shrugged.

"Meh. Nothing much. Just helping my nakama get to her house, deciding that I'll walk back to my house after but knowing I won't go through with it and just crash on your couch, because you're gonna take the bed with injuries like that." He did a duck-face. I giggled.

Suddenly he stopped, his face turning serious. I froze. Did his hypersensitive nose or hearing sense danger, was something gonna happen? My hand inched closer to my keys, even though the doctor said to restrain from using them.

Natsu let out a huff of air, almost all tension easing out of his body. Almost all. The previous alert look was still in there though. He spun around suddenly, and ended up right in front of my face.

"Lucy." He said, inching his face forwards. I tried to lean back, but with all the casts and bandages, it was difficult. "When you—" He broke off, looking away, grumbling something incomprehensible underneath his breath.

"What?" I asked, curiosity spiking. Natsu with an out-of-the-blue question? Very Natsuish.

"Nothing." He waved it off, and we continued walking. I blinked, but was too medicine-ed up to really push the subject. I had to take them every morning and after lunch, but they were very powerful and often lasted the whole day.

We were nearly at my house. Natsu took my house key off of my belt and unlocked the door, looking oddly solemn about something. I walked inside, and with some difficulty, and help from Natsu, got upstairs and opened the door to my house. I sighed. It felt so long since we'd been here.

Natsu followed me into my room and sat on the bed, placing his heads between his head and mumbling to himself. _Did he get hit on the head or something_? I wondered. Finally, he stood up, having his full on grin on his face and looking absolutely fine. The sudden transformation made my eyebrow quirk up, but I didn't say anything. "Hey Natsu? What about we do a little two-person celebration here? For beating Damien? I think I still have those boxed cookies that you like in the cupboard."

He went into the kitchen, and I hobbled in after him. The pink-haired idiot was looking in the shelves, putting his hand in and finally pulling back the box of cookies. "Here we go."

He put them on the table and helped me sit down. Natsu then went to the place where I put my plates and took one. He dumped the cookies on and sat down. I took a cookie with my good hand, but he swatted it gently out. "wait." The Dragon Slayer told me.

He stuck out his thumb, in a thumbs-up way, and lit up his finger with a small flame. "What's this for?" I asked. He grinned.

"Didn't you say it was your birthday a week ago or somethin'?" he grinned. It took me a second to register, and then I was thrilled he remembered. "Happy late birthday Luce!"

I thought for a moment, and then blew out the 'candle'. Natsu clapped.

"Whaddu' wish for?" he asked. I smiled.

"I can't tell you, or the wish won't come true." He pouted.

"You can tell me!" Natsu cried. "Comeon, I'm your best friend! I won't tell anyone, not even Happy."

"I can't tell you!" I said in a sing-song voice.

"Tell me!" he whined.

"Noooooooo... I can't."

"Pretty pretty please with super-spicy food—"

"And chocolate—"

"And a puppy—"

"And a million Jewels—"

"And a cherry on top?"

"Eww... that's a pretty messed up please. But fine... I'll tell you, just as long as you don't tell anyone else." I said. He leaned in, nodding.

"I wished, that Team Natsu could do missions and have fun together, 'til we all get old and gray and die. And even after that." I nodded.

Natsu grinned, then wrinkled his nose. "Why would I—" he thought for a moment, then jumped up off his chair, startling me. "AM I GONNA BECOME ICEPICK WHEN I'M OLD?"

I blinked, reviewing my words. I facepalmed when I understood. "No, you idiot! I mean when our hair gets gray, not Gray the ice mage! It's a figure of speech!" I cried. He sat back down, relaxed.

"That's good. Me become Gray?" he shuddered. I giggled, despite myself. "Well, you don't need to wish for that, Lucy! It's already gonna happen! Team Natsu won't be split apart by anything. Anything at all."

I grinned like an idiot. [Couldn't I just say grinned like Natsu? That would work too...] "mmhmm. Nothing at all." I repeated the words that he said. I picked up a cookie, giving Natsu a cautionary glance before taking one, and he did too.

"Cheers?" he asked.

I clacked the cookie against mine. "Cheers."

Mid-way through our birthday snack, Natsu looked up at me. "Hey... Luce? Why did you jump in front of me when that attack came? I would have taken the hit." He said, eyes looking down.

I smiled slightly. "I can't... stand seeing my nakama hurt." I lied. It wasn't a complete lie...

He turned his head sideways. "And_ I_ can't stand seeing _you_ hurt!" Natsu said stubbornly.

"It's just..."I looked down at the half eaten cookie. "There's more to it than that." He recoiled.

"Natsu... Damn." I bit my lip. I was next to tears, but I blinked rapidly to keep them behind dry eyes.

Natsu stood up, stomping around the table and leaning in close. Very close. "Lucy."

"When you jumped in front of me, defending me from that attack... I didn't remember what had happened. _Everything froze._ When I woke up, I was watching Damien fall to his death. I had killed him." he whispered slowly, enunciating each word. "I carried you to the campsite and for a moment, I _thought you had died_. You were cut up and pale and—" he bit the last of his sentence off.

"My point is, I think I realized something. I'm dense, you know me, and _curse my soul_ because it took so long and for you to nearly die to realize it. I think—"

"I think you're the weirdest person alive. The strange blonde that I had brought to FairyTail grew on me. We've had adventures together, and you know, we became friends. You're a weird, cranky, loud, sassy, kind, weirdo. But when I thought about it, when I thought you were dead, I didn't want to live without you. Like, if Erza or Gray or anyone at FairyTail died, I would be sad, and mourn, but if you died... I wouldn't be able to make it." he shook his head, his face blushing furiously.

My brain was computing what he just said. Oh god. Oh god.

Before my brain had caught up, I took Natsus muffler with my good hand and yanked his lips forwards, right onto mine. The pink haired idiot's eyes were wide open, but soon, he kissed me back. It was quick, but finally, Natsu pulled away, breathing heavily.

"I think I like you too." I told him. He grinned and hugged me. "Owowowowowowow Natsu! My broken arm!" I cried. He pulled away quickly, looking sheepish and concerned at the same time. Curse him.

A few seconds passed, and then, "Hey guys..!" someone sang in a sing-song voice. We froze, and robotically turned around.

Happy was sitting on the window sill, holding a camera to his face. A little red light told me the camera was on. "Happy..?" Natsu pleaded. The little blue Exceed giggled and lowered the camera. It was attached to his neck. He shook his head, sprouting his wings.

"you cannot be kidding me..." I muttered as Happy flew out the window, howling.

Natsu ran after him, climbing out and chasing him over the rooftops. Happy was headed towards the FairyTail guild, screaming "fish, fish, oh glorious fish!" into the night, while angry spurts of flame chased him. I could hear Natsus furious cries from all the way from my apartment.

I sighed, putting my head on my hand. I knew what was gonna happen tomorrow.

* * *

The next day, I put something in my bag, and walked to the guild, hobbling along. I hadn't seen Natsu after our little episode last night, and I was wondering if he was cooking Happy over a spitfire. I grinned at the image. The next time I saw the Exceed... he was gonna get it, cast and bandages or no casts and bandages.

I summoned Leo, and he appeared, grinning like a cat. I scowled at him. "Whaddu' you smiling at?"

"I heard about last night..! You know, the whole guilds talking about it. Happy got the video to Mira, and she had to knock your boyfriend unconscious so he didn't burn the tape. They were playing it all last night." He smirked, helping me walk along.

"Shut up. We're not dating. I swear if you keep going on like this I will kick your ass."

He twiddled his finger. "Na ah. You can't. The doctor said to not exert yourself. Kicking ass includes."

"I can find other ways. I'll get Natsu to do it." I told him. He grinned wider.

"You'll get your _boyfriend_ to do it."

"No, nakama. You know he'll gladly kick some ass if you give him permission. And I won't let you out of the Human world until you receive some furious ass-kicking." I told him. "I'll get your sister to help."

"And besides. I'm still angry with you for not telling me about Kura sooner. I wouldn't be in this situation if you had told me. i'm actually considering giving you some ass-kicking."

He smirked. "Okay..!" he was still grinning widely. I scowled at him.

When I walked through the doors, everyone ran up to me, asking too many questions for me to understand. "Guys... guys... GUYS!" I shouted. Still nobody listened to me. Leo caught my glance and smirked.

"SHUT UP!" someone boomed. The crowd dispersed when a giant ball of darkness came and smashed a three foot hole in the ground, barely missing my feet. It was Mira, in her demon form. Holy—

Mira turned into her sweet, smiling, original form. Damn, that lady was scary, I thought. "Hey Luuuuuucyyy... how are your injuries?" she asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Mira, get on with the point."

She grinned. "Did anything happen last night, that I should be connnncccernnnnned about?" she rolled the concerned. Happy flew in and sat on Mira's shoulder, smiling like the cat he was.

"Not really anything." I hissed through my teeth. "But, I _do_ have a favour to return to a certain blue Exceed." I stomped forwards, grabbing Happy by the tail with my good hand. He squealed.

"Open, Gate of the Maiden, Virgo." The purple haired maid appeared.

"Punishment? What may I do for you, Princess?" she asked. I grinned evilly, and Happy swallowed.

"You have a new mission, Virgo. Leo, the rope." He handed it to me. I tied Happy's leg to one end, having some trouble with the cast on, but managing to knot it thoroughly so he couldn't undo it with his paws, and then tied the other end to a barstool, stuck to the ground. It was just long enough that he could fly around a few feet.

"Give _Happy_ some punishment." I told her. Happy looked terrified. He knew about Virgo's punishments. Virgo ran after him, and he flew around and around, trying to escape her, wailing every apology his dense mind could ever think of to get out of this situation.

"Lucy is the ultimate greatest woman that ever lived on this earth! She rules over all the men and is so incredibly sexy she can make men be her bath rug! She's more powerful than Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Master combined, and Lucy can bring any opponent to his knees by just saying one word! I am so, incredibly grateful to have her as my partner! Luccccyyyy! PLEASE!" as he flew around, the rope got shorter and shorter.

"Keep on going..." I told him. Tears flowing from his eyes, losing his dignity to all the men that came to watch [and Charle,] he continued.

"She is so incredibly awesome that every time the sun shines, I mistake it for her for a second!" –good one— "and every time an enemy sees her, he runs away! Lucy is—Lucy is—" he couldn't continue on for a second, but seeing Virgo behind him, he blurted out, "Lucy is better than Fish!"

Everyone's jaw dropped, except mine. "Okay Virgo, you can leave now." the maiden bowed before disappearing. It was quick, but worth it. I turned to Happy, but didn't untie him, showing the other item I had taken out from my bag. His eyes went wide when he saw the object in my hands.

"Is that—" I nodded. He gasped. I waited for the tape to pop out of the lacyrima powered camera. I walked towards the screen that was popped up in the center of the guild, I was expecting it to be there so that the other Fairies could watch Natsus and I's 'episode' last night. I popped the CD into the DVD player, taking out the other DVD and snapping it in half. Mira opened her mouth to protest, but I sent a heated scary-as-Erza glare her way. She shut up.

It was loading as three hooded figures and Master Makarov walked in. The first hooded figure, shorter than the other, rushed in and hugged me, taking off her cloak. "Lucy! You're okay!" Kura cried. The others, a boy I didn't recognize and one incredibly short, followed the purple haired mage with Master. The dark-skinned boy had dark eyes and recently-healed over scars lining his face and arms. He looked playful though, smiling as he stood behind Kura. Aiko took off her cloak.

Kura stepped back. "Lucy, this is Ren. Ren, Lucy." We shook hands. I saw him over the last few days of healing, but hadn't got to meet him yet.

"You were the boy in the note." I said.

He nodded, grinning. "Yep. I don't really appreciate being bait, but I didn't really have a choice in the matter." I laughed. Ren seemed like a good guy.

Kura hooked her arm in his. Aiko sprout her wings and jumped up. "We heard what happened last night." Aiko beamed and leaned in. "so you took our advice?" she whispered, so only I could hear. I swore I turned beet-red.

"Well, yeah? It-it seems like those two are... an item!" they laughed quietly.

Kura giggled. "Right after I woke up in the doctors office, we told him everything that happened over the past year, and then he kissed me. Yes, we are dating." I pouted because I didn't get the advantage.

"Well, what happened last night wasn't...Arg!" I gave up and turned back to the screen, which had finished loading. Happy was watching it with wide eyes.

_Happy appeared on the screen, flying around in circles, having Virgo chasing him. "-and Master combined, and Lucy can bring any opponent to his knees by just saying one word! I am so, incredibly grateful to have her as my partner! Luccccyyyy! PLEASE!" as he flew around, the rope got shorter and shorter. _

_ "Keep on going..." you heard me in the background. Tears flowing from his eyes, he continued. "She is so incredibly awesome that every time the sun shines, I mistake it for her for a second! and every time an enemy sees her, he runs away! Lucy is—Lucy is—" he looked behind him. "Lucy is better than Fish!"_

Kura giggled. "So that's what we missed?" she asked. "I wished I could have seen it."

"I know." I glanced at Happy, who was frozen on the stool he was tied to. I undid the rope, but he still didn't move.

Charle, the white Exceed that Happy had a _MAJOR_ crush on, got up on the stool. "This'll help." She told me, before pecking Happy on the cheeks. He still didn't move, but his eyes got wider.

"C-c-c-c-c-c-"

The blue Exceed jumped up, hearts in his eyes. He hugged Charle, and the girl blinked, but then grinned. Everyone cheered for the two cats. Cana, in the background, shouted. "We need more beer! This is a time to celebrate!"

"I thought that would work." Charle said. Happy was speechless, completely unable to form a complete sentence. Since everyone was getting together, why not add to the cheer?

Kura, Ren, Aiko, and I laughed. "And guess what?" Kura announced. "We get to stay in Magnolia! They gave us a grant!" amazingly, the cheering got louder.

Suddenly, there was a spurt of flame that appeared over everyone's heads. "PEOPLE!" Natsu shouted.

Everyone moved aside, creating a path. Natsu was standing there. The bump on his head from being knocked unconscious had nearly faded, but it was still poking up in his hair. He stepped forwards, and everyone was silent. He and I were face to face, and he was looking down at me, inspecting me closely. I started to sweat nervously.

"Good Morning Luce." He said, and then kissed me fiercely. The guild erupted into cheers and wolf-whistles.

* * *

**I have good news and bad news. we are DONE with the Four Magics fanfiction! [bad news.] I really enjoyed writing this and posting it! I loved your comments and reviews. the thing is, this story's over. *pouts*_ i'll miss you guys so much!_ *starts bawling* and, now for the good news. I MAY do a sequel to Four Magics, [probably more fluffy] BUT I need reviews to say my hard work was worth it. I'll mostly be doing one shots, but I don't know, I may consider it. **

**Please, tell me my story was good and request a sequel!**

**Bye! ;D**


	21. Chapter 21

**This is a little bonus chapter I kinda wanted to do, and I don't really know what took me so long. Meh. Well, here it is, just a tiny bit of drabbles about the month between Four Magics and its sequel, Fireflies, which I'm currently working on right now. plus, a little excerpt for Lucy at the beginning, cause it really IS her birthday today! [July 1st!] [well, technically yesterday, but whatever.] XD**

* * *

The ironic thing was she remembered the moment they were about to get killed.

Lucy and Natsu stood side-by-side, looking up at the giant, Magic-made Earth and Water bird, as its taloned foot came down. The celestial mage squealed; tackling her partner out of the way, just in time.

They got up quickly, now on guard from the giant hawk in front of them. The two Dark Mages behind the bird grinned, watching the twin Fairies struggle.

Lucy pressed her lips together. Attempting to damage the first Earth mage, Clay, was a waste of Magic. She was beginning to regret going against an opponent that she wasn't strong enough to fight. Not that she had much of a choice; he'd dragged her a hundred feet below the ground in the effort to suffocate her, but fighting him was definitely a bad idea.

Suddenly, the strange thought came to her. It was the date. It was July 1st. She had been so caught up on her mission that she forgot. "Hey Natsu."

The pink-haired Dragon Slayer glanced over at her, eyebrow raised, wondering what could possibly be so important to say _in the middle of a fight_, when she announced, "did I forget to mention it was my birthday today?"

"Wha..? Really? It was your birthday and you forgot to tell me?" he exclaimed, turning to her.

"Just thought it would be nice to tell you sometime. I completely forgot with everything going on."

One of the Dark mages, the Water boy, was pissed that they brushed off the _giant freakin magic hawk that was gonna pulverize their very existence_, and fumed. "Shouldn't you be more concerned about your impending death?" he demanded.

Lucy put her attention back to the Dark mages and shrugged. "Just a thought."

Natsus hands went on fire. "Hey Luce? I say we beat the living crap outta these two." As a second thought, he added, "And then go celebrate your birthday. FairyTail style."

She was thrilled, and actually kinda looking forward to this fight.

* * *

"Ow, ow, ow, ow... goddamnit that hurts!" Lucy cried out as she was tackled by a dozen screaming, crying FairyTail members. With all the casts and bandages she had on because of the recent mission gone wrong, she couldn't get them off of her, with a well-placed Lucy Kick or even a whiplash. So what if she had a near death experience? Natsu came to protect her in the end, right? He eventually defeated Damien and rushed her to the hospital as soon as he could. With Wendy, she'd heal up fine, but her bones and flesh ached from so many broken bones and bruises. The FairyTail assault didn't help.

"Guys! She's still not perfectly better. Guys..." Natsu tried to dig Lucy out from under the pile. Eventually he lit his hands in desperation and anyone that didn't get out of his way fast enough was burned. Everyone got off, and now Natsu was stuck with the problem of getting Lucy up without hurting her. He stared at her on the ground.

"Don't worry, I can bear pain." He hesitated. Very awkwardly, the Dragon Slayer lifted her up, wincing when he heard her sharp intake of air. Finally, she plopped back on her feet. [Or crutches, whatever one you prefer.] She sighed in relief and looked over at her partner, thankful that she had him [quite literally,] to lean on.

* * *

"Eat it." Natsu snapped, patience wearing thin, shoving the spoon closer to her mouth.

In defiance, Lucy looked away, closing her eyes and blowing up her cheeks. Natsu slammed the plate onto the table. "Why won't you eat!" he pulled at the roots of his pink hair. Because of the casts on her arms, she couldn't lift her hands high enough to get food in her mouth, meaning that someone had to spoon feed her. Since nobody wanted to deal with grumpy Lucy, and she was now dating Natsu, the Fairies left the job to him.

"I'm not letting you spoon feed me because it's babyish and gross and stupid. I can take care of myself, even if you are my boyfriend." He huffed.

"Is that it?"

"Yes." He shoved the spoon of mashed stew, courtesy of Mira, closer to Lucy's mouth. The girl closed her lips so he couldn't get her to eat.

"God..!" he fumed. "Lucy, it's not poison! Would you prefer to eat like a dog?" she nodded smartly. A plan flickered into his mind. He left the bowl of food in front of her, standing up and leaning against the counter, watching her closely, arms crossed against his chest.

"I'm looking out for your wellbeing. Prove me wrong and go ahead, eat like a dog like you'd prefer to." Lucy looked down in surprise, and Natsu inwardly grinned. Her pride wouldn't let her back down, as he knew Lucy.

The blonde narrowed her eyes. "Fine. I'll do it and I'll enjoy it." The words were practically ground from her teeth; she bent over, face to face with the bowl, and started lapping its contents, occasionally looking up and glaring at him. He grinned back.

He didn't leave until she was done. "Seconds?" he asked 'innocently'.

"No!"

* * *

Natsu had left Lucy with the girls for awhile, trusting them [just barely,] to watch her for an hour or two as he went to do a short, local mission. Before he left he said, [in quote,] "if I see Lucy anywhere out of this guild alone, or worse, I with pull you all into hell and burn you in scorching flames for all of eternity." The girls swallowed nervously and 'aye-d.' Looked like there was a new Erza in town, and Lucy was a cake.

Lucy, Cana, Lisanna, Juvia, and Levy were sitting at the table, the girls all keeping careful watches on Lucy so she didn't disappear. "SoOOo... how's your boyfriend?" Cana asked, leaning in and smirking seductively.

"Fine. Just fine." Lucy inwardly groaned. She was expecting this to be two-day gossip and then someone would end up being stupider and destroying half a town so that everything would blow over. The Fairies were STILL talking about it. It had been a week since Lucy had started dating Natsu, one-and-a-half wrapped up like a mummy.

"Has it been nice and home-y with him staying at your house all the time? I'm sure he takes very good care of you." The drunk smiled, slightly tipsy.

"Yes, yes he—" she realized the other implication that she got behind her words. "Oh god, not that way!" Lucy fwapped her with her crutch. The drunk didn't seem to notice, her eyes fogging up.

Levy frowned at Cana beside her. "But anyways, that aside... is he any good at kissing?" her eyes went wide, like saucers.

She had to admit... "Yeah. He's pretty good." The girls smiled in silent congratulations.

"That was so funny what Natsu-san did to Gajeel-san yesterday!" Juvia babbled. Everyone chuckled. Yesterday, Gajeel the Iron Dragon Slayer wasn't watching where he was going and tripped on Lucy's outstretched leg. Lucy had hurt, [a lot, but she wasn't gonna say it aloud,] but was willing to forgive the man for his mistake, but found Natsu practically chewing on his leg. She had to make sure the Fire Dragon Slayer didn't kill Gajeel.

"Yeah, but Gajeel must have been hurt too! Did you see that punch Natsu got in his face?" Levy asked, worry etched on her face for her obvious crush. The conversation turned to the bookworm, letting Lucy think.

Well, sure, maybe he was a little over-protective, especially in this state, but she did have to admit it was funny. Gajeel was practically begging Natsu for mercy; which Lucy found amusing because Gajeel _never_ apologized, [also making her confused,] but before she intervened, the Fire Dragon Slayer got a few good hits on the Iron one.

Also, she didn't tell anyone, but she found a note on her desk that night. Luckily, Natsu hadn't seen it, but she wasn't exactly sure what it meant. _Bunny girl, u r certainly his if he goes through such lengths 2 protect u, take it from another Dragon Slayer, even though I only tripped. [P.s. I only said sorry cuz Pinky wuz gonna bite off my head.] [if this is Salamander, BUZZ OFF AND STOP READING YOUR GIRLFRIENDS LETTERS!] –Redfox _

She didn't get what it meant, and Gajeel certainly didn't seem one to write notes. Maybe to Levy, but not herself. [Well, she'd also thought Gajeel wasn't one for singing. She was so, so incredibly wrong about that one too.] She sighed; you never knew with FairyTail.

* * *

"I'm back!" Natsu announced, breaking the girls from their talk.

"Hey Natsu." "Hi, Natsu-san." "Hello." Natsu bent down to give Lucy a quick peck on the cheek [the girls got hearts in their eyes,] and inspected her closely. Deeming her fit and perfectly healthy, he remained standing behind her, hands on either side of her head.

Lucy looked up at him, careful not to strain her neck. "Natsu, do you wanna go home?" she knew he'd had a fairly difficult mission from his quick breath and slightly dirty clothes." you can tell me all about your mission."

"Uh, ya sure, if that's what you want." He helped her up. Lucy waved behind her at her friends and left with Natsu.

They walked home together, but almost as soon as they reached under her door, the Dragon Slayer shuddered, placing a hand on the wall to steady himself. Lucy looked over at him with wide eyes, panicking slightly when he clutched his stomach.

There was red soaking through his vest. Lucy opened the door quickly and they both helped each other up to her room, the Celestial Spirit mage running into the bathroom to get her first-aid supply. Coming back, seeing Natsu stripped down to his trousers, she saw the tiny but deep wound dug into his skin.

They worked together to patch it up, Lucy cleaning it gently and Natsu placing the bandages on. It wasn't a hospital worthy injury, but it sure made the Blonde panic. "Where the hell did that come from?" she demanded once they were finished.

"Escort mission through... East forest. Bandits... lots, trying to get expensive thing in guys bag... scorched them all, one finally got me." he breathed.

"And _why_ didn't you go to the nearest clinic or hospital?" her voice rose with panic. It would be fine now, but _he better have the best reason in hell for why he was here and not at a damned hospital_.

"Cause I said I'd be back in an hour or two. If I went to a hospital, then I'd be there for too long and then you'd worry for me. I don't like making you worried."

"And you think letting me see you like this isn't?" she sighed. Natsu would be Natsu, boyfriend or not. "If that had gotten any worse it _would_ have been a hospital-worthy injury." Natsu grinned sheepishly at her.

"Even though that was incredibly stupid, as long as you don't do it again I forgive you." Lucy said, looking at his endearingly cute face. Damn, if he wasn't so cute and she didn't have the casts on she would have kicked the salmon-haired idiot into the next century.

* * *

[Four days later,]

Natsu smiled over at the petite blonde girl sleeping in the bed peacefully. Her cute little face was tucked half-way into the warm covers, bunching them in her arms like a teddy bear. She'd finally managed to get into a comfortable position last night, [not easy when you were covered in bandages,] and fell asleep.

Natsu usually woke up later than Lucy, but this morning he made sure to get up early so he could do something. Eyeing the stove to make sure it didn't catch fire; he went and checked the bacon sizzling on the pan.

_Does that look okay?_ He asked himself, inspecting the strips of meat. Happy had always done the cooking in the house, since Natsu's cooking experience was next to none, and the Exceed had watched Mira enough that he could cook meat and eggs fairly well.

Beaten by a cat. Great.

Taking the spatula, he flipped the eggs over, and winced to find they were slightly undercooked; they splattered all over inside the pan. _Well, it's like my first try in five years_. He hoped it was at least _edible_ by the time he woke up Lucy, but he continued watching carefully as breakfast was made on the stove.

It was about finished, so Natsu put everything onto two plates [Happy wasn't here, currently with Carla and Wendy for a mission, saying that he needed to get out of the house,] placed them on the counter, and went to the bedroom.

He crouched down, inches away from her face. He poked her cheek. "Lucy... Lucy..." the girl smiled dreamily, but rolled over slowly so he couldn't poke her face anymore.

"Comeon Luuucy~" Natsu insisted. "Wake-y wake-y, eggs and bake-y..." he pulled her over, softly so he didn't pull any limbs too hard, and poked her cheek again. Slowly, her brown eyes opened drowsily, and Natsu claimed her in a first-in-the-morning kiss.

He felt her smile lightly, and he pulled back. "Good morning..." he said tenderly, kissing her on her forehead, where luckily the skin wasn't bandaged.

She yawned. "Good morning." She blinked, trying to get the sleep out of her eyes. They were still slightly sleep-drugged, brown orbs trying to settle on her surroundings. "What was it you said about breakfast?"

He smiled. "Move over. We're having breakfast in bed."

Lucy squinted at him. "Did you make... holy crap. Are you sure you're Natsu?"

"Yes, yes, I'm sure! You asked me that yesterday!" he chuckled, kissing her once more time before getting up and getting the now-cooled-off plates of food. He passed the plate, putting it on her lap, and climbed in after her. With Wendy's healing, the doctors gave Lucy permission to remove the bandages on her hands, allowing her to eat normally. Thank the lord. She was getting tired of being spoon-fed.

"Err... wait." Natsu held his hand out to stop her from eating the piece of egg she speared on her fork. She glanced at him, food half-way to her mouth, it snapping shut when she realized it was still open. "Let me try first. I need to check if it's edible."

She started protesting— "Natsu it looks fine, how can you expect it not to be—" but he held up his hand. Diving into his plate, he took a piece of egg, and put it in his mouth. He chewed... chewed... chewed...

Without hesitation he took Lucy's plate away from her and went to dump it in the garbage. "Wha—"

"Never, ever let me cook again. I'll pick something up at the cafe."

* * *

**Hehehe... doesn't really have any significance to the storyline, but I noticed as I was making FireFlies, I kinda left a month [exactly,] empty. So, this kinda popped into my head, Natsu taking care of Lucy and being notoriously stupid sometimes for the sake of his girlfriend. if you didn't notice, the first aren't when they're couples [as the first one's a Happy Birthday drabble, and the second one's when she gets back to the guild.] **

**Well, either way, I kinda forgot to do this the last chapter a little; Thank you for all the reviews while making this story! I am sincerely sorry if I forgot to PM you my thanks, as I like to reply to all my reviews... but..! anyway, I really enjoyed making this fic come to life and read everyone's comments! Special thanks to; LifeIsWaiting, ajmonkeygirl99, Squishymeansyay,4fireking, and Luna Rose for the positive reviews! yYu guys made my day!**

**Look up the sequel to Four Magics, Fireflies! I will be posting on a fairly average basis. [every one-to-three days,] meaning lots of new chapters!**


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